MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Fall As Global Growth Concerns Resurface

By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch Merck & Co. to buy Cubist Pharma

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower start to the week on Monday, as investors assessed downbeat economic reports from China and Europe, while oil prices continued to fall.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) dropped 54 points, or 0.3%, to 17,899, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) lost 7.10 points, or 0.3%, to 2,069.00. Futures for Nasdaq 100 index (NDZ4) fell 14.25 points, or 0.3%, to 4,299.

The Dow average flirted with the 18,000 level on Friday, but with futures heading south on Monday the benchmark looked set to remain below the psychological milestone. The S&P and Nasdaq also climbed on Friday following much better-than-expected nonfarm-payrolls numbers for November.

While the jobs data is good news for the U.S. labor market, it also raises expectations for when the Fed will introduce its first tightening to its ultra-loose monetary policy. Nour Al-Hammoury, chief market strategist at ADS Securities, said in a note on Monday that rate-hike guesswork is likely to drive the markets this week and that the solid nonfarm report made traders believe a hike in 2015 is more likely.

"However, the factory orders [out on Friday] eased these speculations, as it posted the third monthly decline in a row, which has not been seen since 2012," Al-Hammoury said. "Back then, when the factory orders fell for four consecutive months the Fed reacted by introducing QE3. Not all the economic figures are bad, but at the same time the Fed now has no option of QE to fall back on."

Data: After a busy run of high-profile data last week, Monday is a bit of a breather. Only the labor-market conditions index from the Fed is due at around 10 a.m. Eastern, and instead investors have retail sales and consumer sentiment to look forward to on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Fed speakers: Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart will speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy to the Council for Quality Growth in Atlanta at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Lockhart will be a voting member of the Fed policy committee in 2015.

Global growth worries: Concerns about the health of the global economy resurfaced on Monday after disappointing Chinese trade numbers and data showing Japan's economy contracted more than initially forecast in the third quarter. Figures from Germany showed industrial production expanded less than expected in October.

Movers and shakers: Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc.(CBST) soared 36% ahead of the bell after drug giant Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) agreed to buy the smaller antibiotics maker for $8.4 billion. Merck inched 0.2% higher premarket.

McDonald's Corp (MCD) shares slid 2.7% after the fast-food chain posted sharper-than-expected sales declines across all of its divisions in November.

Shares of Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN) rose after the company reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss.

(Read more in today's Movers & Shakers column: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vail-resorts-hr-block-earnings-in-focus-2014-12-07.)

Other markets: Asian markets got their first chance to react to the solid U.S. nonfarm-payrolls numbers, sending indexes in Japan and China higher. China's Shanghai Composite closed above 3,000 for the first time since 2011.

In Europe, the euro (EURUSD) traded around a 28-month low after Ewald Nowotny, member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, said the currency union is the weak spot in the world economy. European stock markets were also mostly lower.

Crude oil (CLF5) continued to slide, while metals were mostly on the rise. The dollar (DXY) rose against most major currencies.

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