Stock Futures Zigzag as Global Data Take Spotlight

FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed Monday after a hectic week as traders digested a handful of economic reports from around the world.

Today's Markets

As of 8:00 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 10 points to 15580, S&P 500 futures fell 1 point to 1703 and Nadaq 100 futures rose 0.5 point to 3137.

There was no rest for Wall Street's weary last week. The markets received the latest communique from the Federal Reserve and a tepid monthly jobs report, in addition to a slew of other economic data and earnings. This week was set to be quieter, with a slimmer number of reports due out.

"With the July FOMC meeting and last Friday’s payroll report now past and still leaving us with a state of confusion with what comes next," Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, wrote in an email to clients.

HSBC's gauge of service-sector output in China clocked in at 51.3 in July, matching a June reading. Readings above 50 point to expansion, while those below indicate contraction. The report showed signs of stabilization for the world's No. 2 economy, according to Hongbin Qu, the bank's chief economist for China.

Still, Qu warned that "without a sustained improvement of demand, services growth is likely to remain lackluster, putting downside pressures to employment growth.”

A report from the Institute for Supply Management on the U.S. services sector is due out at 10:00 a.m. ET. Economists expect ISM non-manufacturing PMI to check in at 53 in July from 52.2 the month before.

On the corporate front, HSBC (NYSE:HBC) unveiled quarterly profits that widely missed analysts' expectations. Shares of Europe's largest came under heavy pressure in both European and U.S. trading. Disney (NYSE:DIS) posts its earnings after the bell on Tuesday.

In commodities, U.S. oil futures fell 88 cents, or 0.81%, to $106.07 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.76% to $2.972 a gallon. Gold dipped $2.20, or 0.17%, to $1,308 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.03% to 2810, the English FTSE 100 dipped 0.09% to 6642 and the German DAX slumped 0.1% to 8398.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 sold off by 1.4% to 14258 and the Chinese Hang Seng rose 0.14% to 22222.