U.S. futures lower ahead of factory orders data; Dow Jones down 0.19%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Monday, as political uncertainty in Spain weighed on market sentiment, while investors eyed the release of U.S. data later in the day.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.19% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.21% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% loss.

Sentiment weakened as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced calls to resign, following corruption allegations against him and senior officials in the ruling Popular Party.

Prime Minister Rajoy strongly denied the corruption allegations in a statement on Saturday.

But investor confidence remained supported after data on Friday showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone improved in January, while inflation and unemployment stabilized, underlining the view that the crisis in the region has turned a corner.

In the U.S., official data showed that the economy added 157,000 jobs in December, slightly below expectations, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in November. However, November and December nonfarm payrolls figures were revised sharply higher.

Insurance companies were likely to be in focus, amid reports the largest U.S. life insurer, MetLife Inc., is expanding the portfolio of Americas head William Wheeler with a USD2 billion deal, signalling that he may be the next CEO.

The financial sector was also expected to be active, as Blackstone, one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, was said to have quietly secured a securities underwriting licence, paving its way into investment banking territory.

Amid energy-linked stocks, Chevron dropped 0.60% in pre-market trade, after UBS cut its recommendation on the second-largest U.S. energy company to "neutral" from "buy".

Elsewhere, Permira Advisers LLP and KKR & Co. were reportedly working with JP Morgan on options for their controlling stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media, including a sale.

The buyout firms, which own about 53% of the German broadcaster, may exit this year by selling their stake to another company or on the market, according to Bloomberg.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.76%, Germany's DAX declined 0.49%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.69%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.16%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.62%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on factory orders.