Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately lower open on Monday, after the fourth of July holiday weekend, as investors eyed the beginning of second-quarter earnings season, due to begin on Tuesday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.11% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% downtick.
Official data last week showed that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs last month, well above expectations for jobs growth of 212,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1%, the lowest in almost six years.
The strong data sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve could bring forward its timetable for raising interest rates.
Markets were also jittery after International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned over the weekend that the pace of global growth may be weaker than expected in the second half of the year due to weak investment.
American Apparel (NYSE:APP) was expected to be active following reports its largest investor, Standard General LP, is considering paying off a $10 million loan for the retailer to help it avoid deeper legal disputes.
Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) was also likely to be in focus after saying it will acquire Wild Flavors GmbH, a maker of natural food ingredients, for about $3 billion cash in what will be the company’s biggest takeover.
Also in M&A news, nline travel-booking service Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) was said ti have agreed to buy Australia's Wotif.Com Holdings (ASX:WTF) for $658 million, in a move to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Elsewhere, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s YouTube was set to move after it postponed a controversial plan to block certain record labels from its video platform, following an outcry from the creative community and growing scrutiny from European regulators.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 shed 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.36%, Germany's DAX fell 0.14%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.02%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.37%.