MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Fall As IBM Slides

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures fell into the red on Monday, as Dow industrials heavyweight IBM fell sharply in premarket trading on downbeat results.

European stocks fell after major software maker SAP cut its earnings outlook.

Swinging from a thin lead to a loss, futures for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) fell 5.6 points, or 0.3%, to 1,875140, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) slid 81 points, or 0.5%, to 16,353. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) fell 22 points, or 0.2, to 3,796.

Stocks rallied on Friday, but Wall Street still closed out the week with losses, with both the Dow industrials (DJI) and the S&P 500 index (SPX) dropping 1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) lost 0.4%.

What investors want: For one, an earnings season that confirms the U.S. economy is still improving, said Société Générale analysts Patrick Legland and Daniel Fermon in a note on Monday.

Investors, they added, also need to see these two catalysts: More dovish central-bank talk and a stronger signal from European leaders. "Otherwise, the lack of coordinated policies and ECB [European Central Bank] constraints could continue to deter investors," said the analysts. Europe stocks were pitching south on Monday.

Economic calendar: Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher will be interviewed on CNBC at 8 a.m. Eastern on Monday, and Fed Governor Jerome Powell will give a speech on community banking to a St. Louis Fed webinar at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

IBM disappoints: IBM (IBM)'s earnings missed analysts' expectations, and shares skidded 8% in premarket trading. IBM is the second-biggest component in the Dow industrials.

IBM also said it will sell its global semiconductor technology business to Globalfoundries, paying $1.5 billion in cash to the company over the next three years and will reflect a precash tax charge of $4.7 billion in its third-quarter results.

More earnings: Shares of Hasbro Inc.(HAS) rose 1% after its results. VF Corp. (VFC) is also due ahead of the bell. More than 1/3 of Dow stocks to report this week

After the close, Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) will report results. Apple is projected to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $1.31 a share on sales of $40 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet. What to watch for in Apple's results Plus: More earnings expectations for Monday

Apple also starts rolling out its Apple Pay system on Monday, though The Wall Street Journal points out the biggest gap is department-store cards.

Other markets: German stocks led fresh weakness in Europe, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index sinking nearly 1% after business software maker SAP SE (SAP) lowered its earnings outlook for the year. U.S.-listed shares were down 4% in premarket trade. (Read more about Europe's big stock movers here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sap-slides-nutreco-surges-europes-big-stock-movers-2014-10-20.)

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index had a spectacular rebound, surging nearly 4%, which weakened the yen (USDJPY) and drove investors into the dollar. Gold(GCZ4) was flat, while oil prices(CLX4) inched higher.

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