U.S. equity index futures are pointing toward a lower open as earnings season begins with the traditional release of Alcoa's Q4 earnings after the close of trading today, Oil futures are higher this morning after a leak along the Alaskan pipeline has forced the pipeline to shut down, cutting output by 95%. European markets are trading lower as concerns over the sovereign debt crisis has returned on reports of Portugal possibly being forced to accept a bailout, Asian exchanges closed lower while Japanese markets were closed.
The US jobs report on Friday drove US markets lower and has had the same result in Asian markets Monday. US market futures are off across the board as of this report, more information will be forthcoming overnight and US markets will likely foot off the Asian close in about 5 hours.
Investors in the U.S. await the always-important report on unemployment this morning with the expectation being for a 150K rise although some are privately looking for even higher numbers especially after the very positive ADP report on Wednesday. Index futures are slightly lower this morning but in light trade as traders await the data. Markets in Asia closed mixed overnight while European exchanges trade lower on weaker-than-expected economic data. The Euro is reflecting that weakness and has once again dipped back below the 1.30 level.
U.S. equity index futures are pointing toward a higher open as optimism continues about the domestic economic recovery. Investors may be patient in their trade today as they await data from the Dept. of Labor tomorrow regarding unemployment. This morning they get another peek into the jobs picture as a report on jobless claims is due out at 8:30am ET. 
Equity futures in the U.S. are pointing toward a lower open as commodities pull back and traders await a report from ADP on private sector employment. Crude oil and natural gas futures are lower while gold prices have stabilized and are trading slightly higher. 
Equity markets in the U.S. are looking to continue their strong start yesterday as futures point toward a higher open by about 40 points on the Dow and 4 points on the S&P as optimism on the economy becomes more widespread. Furthering the optimistic view is the price of copper, which is considered to be a barometer of industrial activity, hit a new high yesterday although looks to slightly pull back this this morning. 
Markets are poised to start the new year with a strong start as index futures in the U.S. are rallying. Dow futures are higher by nearly 70 points while S&P futures have climbed about 8 points. The week will be full of economic data starting with a survey of manufacturers (ISM) and a report on construction spending all due out at 10am. In overseas action, most Asian indices remained closed but the Hang Seng jumped over 1.7% in its first day of 2011 trade. In Europe, London id closed but all other major indices are trading sharply higher as economic optimism continues in 2011.
U.S. futures are trading flat to slightly lower pointing to another day of uninspired trade as equity markets look to close out 2010 with respectable gains. The Dow is up 11% for the year while the S&P is up almost 13%. Tech stocks led the way as the Nasdaq looks to finish 2010 with a more than 17% gain. Over in Asia, most indices were higher although Japan's Nikkei was closed.
