A new trading week kicks off soon.
Investors are keeping an eye on China's economy, commodities and quarterly earnings.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. Chinese GDP
China's economy has posted its slowest growth since the financial crisis, with gross domestic product expanding by 6.9% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, according to official data.
The growth was slightly better than economists expected, but it marks a deceleration from the 7% expansion seen in the first half of the year.
Chinese government officials are aiming for annual growth of around 7%.
Meanwhile, some observers are concerned the official data is painting an unrealistically rosy picture.
"The GDP figure of 6.9% has restored fresh debates over the accuracy of China's growth statistics with fears that the GDP growth is even lower than what the official statistics dictate," said research analyst Lukman Otunuga at online broker FXTM.
2. Commodities slump
2. Commodities slump
Global oil prices are slumping by about 1% and prices for precious metals and industrial metals are all declining.
As a result, shares in mining companies are taking a hit, especially in London.
Commodity prices tend to drop based on concerns about a slowing Chinese economy, since a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy means lower global demand for construction products, shiny jewelry and fuel, among other things.
3. Earnings
3. Earnings
Morgan Stanley (MS), Halliburton (HAL) and Hasbro (HAS) are some of the companies posting quarterly earnings before the markets open.
Then after trading finishes for the day, IBM (IBM, Tech30), Six Flags (SIX) and Sonic (SAH) will report.
4. Stock market overview
4. Stock market overview
U.S. stock futures are not making any big moves ahead of the open. They're sitting around the levels where they closed on Friday.
European markets are mostly edging higher in early trading, while Asian markets ended with mixed results.
Last week the Dow Jones industrial average posted its third week of gains. It's risen by 5.7% since the start of October.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have also made impressive gains over the same period, up 5.9% and 5.8%, respectively.
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