1. Dow closer to 20,000 milestone

Is this the week the Dow Jones industrial average hits 20,000 points? It's currently sitting at 19,843.

The stock index has been flirting with that round number for a week as the market continued its stunning post-election rally. The Dow cleared 19,000 on Nov. 22.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also trading around their highest levels ever. As the final full trading week of the year begins, U.S. stock futures are inching up.

European markets are mostly sinking in early trade, and most Asian markets are closing the day with losses.

2. Stocks to watch

Shares in Airbus are dipping as Iran Air says it's not going to buy as many of the company's planes as it had originally planned in January.

The original deal was to buy 118 planes worth an estimated $26 billion. Now the deal is expected to be worth just $10 billion.

Shares in Nintendo crushed 7% on Monday following underwhelming reviews for the new game, Super Mario Run.

Nintendo's stock has dropped 11% since the mobile game's debut last Thursday. Shares in DeNa, the company that helped develop the game, have slumped nearly 14% over the same period.

Apple is in focus as it launches an attack on the European Union's record $14 billion tax ruling.

Apple says European officials singled the company out for a massive tax bill as "a convenient target because it generates lots of headlines."

The company is accused of saving billions of dollars in tax by using loopholes and tax deals in Ireland. The Irish government is also challenging the EU tax ruling.

3. Dollar is taking a breather

The dollar edged lower in Asian trading on Monday as some investors took profits after its rise last week to a 14-year peak against a currency basket, though it remained underpinned by expectations of more U.S. interest hikes in the coming year.

The Federal Reserve's interest rate forecasts released on Wednesday, after its widely expected rate increase, showed three more hikes in 2017, which fueled the dollar's rise to last week's highs.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major counterparts, was last down 0.2 percent at 102.720. It climbed as high as 103.560 last week.

The EUR was last up slightly at $1.0457, holding above a nearly 14-year low of $1.0364 notched last week.

4. All eyes on Yellen

The head of the Federal Reserve - Janet Yellen - is scheduled to give a speech about the state of the American job market at 18:30GMT at the University of Baltimore.

Yellen may offer more clues about how much central bank support the labor market might need. Investors are trying to gauge how far interest rates may rise in 2017 after the Fed hiked rates last week.

Coming later this week:

Tuesday - Nike and FedEx earnings

Wednesday - Apple AirPods shipped

Thursday - Final Q3 revision of U.S. GDP

Friday - NYSE closes at 18:00 GMT.