(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to come under pressure in early trading on Monday amid renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 210 points.
The downward momentum for the markets comes as worries about the ongoing European debt crisis have resurfaced amid indications that Spain could require a full bailout.
Contributing to the worries about Spain, the country's central bank said Spanish GDP fell by 0.4 percent in the second quarter following a 0.3 percent contraction in the first quarter.
Traders also remain concerned about developments in Greece, with officials from the country's troika of international creditors due to visit Athens on Tuesday to review the progress Greece has made with respect to enacting reforms and austerity measures.
Germany's Der Spiegel has reported that the International Monetary Fund does not want to provide Greece with any additional financing.
Peter Boockvar, managing director at Miller Tabak said, "From the perspective of its creditors, particularly the Germans, the moment of 'enough is enough' is about to be reached with Greece."
The focus on Europe comes amid a lack of major U.S. economic data, although key reports on second quarter GDP, new home sales, durable goods orders and consumer sentiment are scheduled to be released later in the week.
Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, hurt by worries about Europe and lingering concerns about the global economy. With the slide, Wall Street surrendered some of the gains posted earlier in the week.
The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory, at or near their lows for the session. The Dow fell 120.79 points or 0.9 percent to 12,822.57, the Nasdaq slid 40.60 points or 1.4 percent to 2,925.30 and the S&P 500 dropped 13.85 points or 1 percent to 1,362.66.
Despite the losses on the day, the major averages all moved to the upside for the week. The Nasdaq advanced by 0.6 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both rose by 0.4 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw significant weakness during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 1.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted by 3 percent.
The major European markets are also moving sharply lower on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is tumbling by 2.3 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index have plunged by 2.7 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
In commodities trading, crude oil for September delivery is falling $3.58 to $88.25 a barrel in its first day of trading as the front month contract. Gold futures, which fell $9.20 or 0.6 percent to $1,582.80 an ounce last week, are sliding $13.90 to $1,568.90 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar dipped 0.9 percent against the Japanese yen last week to 78.48 yen. Meanwhile, the greenback rose 0.7 percent against the euro to $1.2158. The dollar is currently trading at 78.20 yen and is valued at $1.2084 versus the euro.
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