Money Watch

Stocks to slide on global concerns

Posted: Aug 13, 2012 6:45 AM by CNNMoney staff

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks point to a slightly lower open on renewed concerns about global growth.

U.S. stock futures were lower early Monday morning.

Trading volume may be light with little major corporate or economic news expected, and many investors in summer-vacation mode.

Investors will once again keep an eye on Europe, as concerns that Spain may need an international bailout continue to mount. The country's borrowing costs are uncomfortably high, with the 10-year bond yield is hovering just below 7%.

Weak economic numbers out of Japan also reignited worries about a global slowdown.

On the domestic front, second-quarter earnings season is beginning to draw to a close, though daily deals site Groupon reports after the bell Monday. Numbers due later in the week include Home Depot, Walmart and Cisco.

U.S. stocks finished flat Friday following disappointing economic data from China and fears of a global slowdown.

World markets: European stocks mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 were flat, while the DAX in Germany ticked up 0.2%.

Asian markets ended lower after Japan reported weak growth. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.5%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.3%and Japan's Nikkei shed 0.1%.

Japan's gross domestic product grew at 1.4% in the second quarter, according to Japan's Cabinet Office. The slower-than-expected pace in growth for the world's third-largest economy further fueled concerns over a slowdown in Asia and across the globe.

Companies: Groupon is expected to report quarterly earnings of three cents a share on $573 million in revenue, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced price cuts on all three of its Nook e-reader and tablet devices Monday, as back-to-school shopping gets under way and amid speculation that Amazon will introduce a new version of its Kindle Fire. The company said price cuts will fall between $20 to $50.

Ingersoll-Rand, the industrial giant, announced Monday that it will add Nelson Peltz to its board board of directors. Additionally, the investor and CEO of Trian Fund Management will join the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Finance Committee. The move comes as a way to avoid potential infighting, as Trian is currently one of Ingersoll's largest shareholders.

Economy: No major economic reports are expected on Monday.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and Japanese yen, but gained versus the British pound.

Oil for September delivery rose 67 cents to $93.54 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery added $2.40 to $1,624.20 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury held steady with the yield at 1.65%, the same level as late Friday.