Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Monday, as sentiment slightly recovered from Friday's losses due to concerns over mounting tensions in Ukraine, although investors continued to monitor developments in the region.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.28% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.27% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.28% increase.
Investors remained cautious as hostilities between Russia and Ukraine continued and the West prepared to step up sanctions against Moscow.
A joint statement from G-7 nations said they would "move swiftly to impose additional sanctions on Russia" because the latter has not moved to comply with the Geneva accord.
In the U.S., data on Friday showed that consumer confidence rose to a nine-month high in April, adding to signs that the economy is improving.
The University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index came in at 84.1 this month, up from 80 in March and the preliminary reading of 82.6. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 83.0.
The pharmaceutical sector was expected to be active, after Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) confirmed that it is interested in acquiring the Britain's Astrazeneca (AZN.LONDON) for about £58.8 billion. The acquisition would be one of the largest takeovers in the industry’s history.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) was also slated to remain in the spotlight, after French officials imperiled the company's attempt to acquire Alstom (ALSO.PARIS) by urging the latter to consider a rival offer from Germany’s Siemens (SIEGn.XETRA).
GE chief executive officer, Jeffrey Immelt, was scheduled to meet French President Francois Hollande later Monday, after he was rebuffed by Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg over the weekend.
In the tech sector, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), up 0.22% pre-market, and Korean rival Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) were reportedly heading toward the conclusion of their second U.S. patent trial regarding Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Android operating system.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Charter Communications (CHTR.O) and Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN), scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.80%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.60%, Germany's DAX rallied 0.92%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.31%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.41%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 0.98%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on pending home sales.