After Friday's strong performance, U.S. equity indexes are pointing toward a soft open ahead of June retail sales figures, which are expected to show a gain for the month.
S&P 500 futures are off 3.25 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1348.50 as of this writing. The Nasdaq 100 contracts are down 4.50 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2572.50.
Much of the weakness can be attributed to a declining euro and a strengthening dollar. The euro/dollar is down 0.37 percent to 1.2206. U.S. dollar futures are higher by 0.2 percent to 83.64, keeping pressure on commodity markets this morning.
European stock indexes are in negative territory, with the German DAX down 0.14 percent and the U.K. FTSE 100 off 0.03 percent. Japan's Topix is lower by 0.15 percent, but the Nikkei 225 is higher by 0.05 percent. China's markets are split as well, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.15 percent but the Shanghai Composite down 1.74 percent after Premier Wen Jiabo issued cautious remarks about his country's economy this weekend.
Copper prices remain weak, down 0.98 percent to 3.4695 after a high of 3.508 last night. Spot gold prices are off 0.46 percent, or 7.30 points, to 1584.70. Crude oil is lower by 0.42 percent to 86.72 but holding support at 86.50.
In stock-specific news, shares of MasterCard and Visa are higher by about 3 percent this morning after the companies agreed to settle a case over credit-card swipe fees. Citigroup is up more than 2 percent after beating earnings estimates a few minutes ago.
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