U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a lower opening on the Wall Street, with focus on a disappointing China trade data and Eurogroup meeting to discuss on the final approval for Greece's second bailout.
Mini Dow industrial average futures retreated 26.00 points to 12,837.00. The Nasdaq Futures edged 6.75 points lower to 2,637.00. Standard and Poor's 500 futures dropped 4.00 points to 1,362.80.
With no economic data for the day and corporate announcements fairly light, the sentiment is likely to be weighed by overseas news.
A data showed that China swung to a trade deficit of $31.48 billion in February, its largest gap in at least a decade.
On Friday, U.S. stocks held on gains for the third straight day and ended on a positive note amid solid jobs data and reports of a successful Greek debt swap deal.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: (ORCL, ZOLL, QSFT, TIF, GMCR)
Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) retreated 1.59 percent to $29.65 in premarket trading. The software maker's shares were downgraded to "Hold" from "Buy" by Jefferies Group Inc.
Zoll Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: ZOLL) rallied 23.7 percent to $93.21 in premarket after it agreed to be acquired by Japan's Asahi Kasei for about $2.21 billion or $93 per share.
Quest Software Inc. (NASDAQ: QSFT), an IT services company, said Friday it has agreed to be taken private by affiliates of Insight Venture Partners for $23 a share. The stock fell 0.71 percent in premarket.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) may be in focus after reports that it has counterclaimed against Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group (SWGAY) over a severed cooperation agreement.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) is also likely to see some activity after Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) disclosed that it is launching a new, single-cup coffee machine called Verismo, which is likely to threaten its GMCR's Keurig single-serve machines.
Global Markets:
The European markets traded mixed, with Germany's DAX advancing 0.12 percent to trade at 6,888.60. France's CAC40 declined 0.15 percent to 3,482.13. Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.14 percent to 5,879.30.
Asia markets ended on a mixed note. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.20 percent to end at $2,434.55. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.23 percent to close at 21,134.18. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.40 percent to end at 9,889.86.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures weakened 0.99 percent to $106.34 per barrel. Gold lost 0.74 percent to $1,698.8 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro traded 0.02 percent lower against the U.S. dollar at 1.3121, and the British pound fell 0.23 percent against the greenback at 1.5637. The dollar dropped 0.32 against the Japanese yen to 82.1960.