US Stock Futures Suggest Lower Open; Corporate Earnings, Janet Yellen's Testimony, And Data On Retail Sales, Jobless Claims And Industrial Production Will Be In Focus This Week

Earnings from a platoon of corporate majors, the first speech from Janet Yellen as the new head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and economic data on jobless claims, retail sales, industrial production and consumer sentiment should set the tone for the markets this week.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.25 percent and futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.28 percent while those on the Nasdaq were down 0.11 percent. Last week, the Dow rose 0.6 percent while the S&P 500 gained 0.81 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.57 percent.

On the earnings front, Masco Corp. (NYSE:MAS), Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) and Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) are scheduled to declare quarterly earnings after markets close Monday.

In Europe, stocks were positive with the Stoxx Europe 600 index up 0.09 percent while the FTSE 100 was up 0.08 percent. Germany’s DAX-30 was up 0.26 percent and France's CAC-40 was up 0.32 percent.

In Asia, markets were mixed with Japan’s Nikkei ending the day up 1.77 percent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.08 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.27 percent while the Shanghai Composite shot up 2.03 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was nearly flat, up 0.04 percent, while India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.21 percent.