1. Time for a Santa Claus rally?
1. Time for a Santa Claus rally?
U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher open Monday after markets suffered a steep drop on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 2.1% on Friday, the S&P 500 retreated 1.8% and the Nasdaq lost 1.6%. All three indexes are currently in the red for December, countering seasonal expectations for a "Santa Claus rally."
Most European markets are also rising in early trading, while Asian markets ended with mixed results.
2. Pain in Spain
2. Pain in Spain
The key Spanish IBEX 35 index is down by about 2% on Monday after a general election on Sunday resulted in more political uncertainty. The euro was also under pressure as the election results came through.
Spain's ruling conservative party walked away with the most seats in the election, but fell short of winning a clear majority. The party, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, won 123 seats. It needed 176 seats for a majority.
The Socialist Party followed in second place and claimed 90 seats.
3. Stock market movers
3. Stock market movers
Disney, Toshiba: Shares in Disney are rising by about 2% premarket after its movie -- "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" -- had the biggest opening in box office history.
It brought in an estimated $238 million in the U.S. this weekend, surpassing the record held by Universal's "Jurassic World," which made $208.8 million on its opening weekend in June.
The new 'Star Wars' film has made $517 million around the world since opening overseas on Wednesday.
Shares in Toshiba (TOSYY) dropped by about 10% on Monday after the Japanese company said it expects to post a $4.5 billion loss this year as it deals with the aftermath of a massive accounting scandal.
The estimated loss is significantly higher than analysts had expected.
4. Oil falls to 11-year low
4. Oil falls to 11-year low
Brent oil sank to the lowest level since July 2004 on Monday, as ongoing jitters over a global supply glut drove down prices.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for February delivery dropped 44 cents, or 1.21%, to trade at $36.44 a barrel during European morning hours. It earlier fell to $36.05, a level not seen in more than 11 years.
London-traded Brent futures slumped 97 cents, or 2.77%, last week, the third consecutive weekly decline. Brent prices are on track to post an annual decline of 36% in 2015, as oversupply concerns dominated market sentiment for most of the year.
