(RTTNews) - The major European index futures are pointing towards a higher opening for the markets on Monday. A joint announcement from the U.S. and European Union leaders that they will host a summit of Group of Eight and other major economies on the global financial crisis may boost investor sentiment. However, global cues are mixed, as U.S. stocks finished Friday's volatile session lower, while the Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Monday on bargain hunting. Oil continued to rise on Monday in Asian trading on speculation that OPEC might announce production cuts to shore up falling oil prices.
The Brent North Sea crude December futures were quoted at $70.55 a barrel, up $0.95, by 11:25 p.m. ET. In London, December Brent crude gained $3.28, to settle at $69.60 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange on Friday.
On Friday, U.S. stocks finished lower, as traders weighed some weaker-than-expected economic data against better-than-expected earnings from some big name companies. The Dow closed down 127 points or 1.4% at 8,852, the Nasdaq closed down 6 points or 0.4% at 1,711, and the S&P 500 closed down nearly 6 points or 0.6% at 940.
In the Asia-Pacific region Friday, Japan's Nikkei 225 index is gaining 2.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is advancing 3.8%, Australia's All Ordinaries index is up 3.4%, and South Korea's KOSPI is climbing 1.5%. On the other hand, China's Shanghai Composite index is down 0.78%.
The major economic report scheduled for release in Europe is the German producer prices index. In the U.S., traders may focus on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on economy at the House budget committee.
The European markets rose for the first time in three days on Friday, boosted by a rally in heavily weighted energy stocks after crude oil prices rebounded from a 13-month low. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips gained 4.2% to 894.8 and the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index climbed 6.0% to 2,266.1. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index surged up 5.2% to 4,063.0, France's CAC 40 index advanced 4.7% to 3,329.9, and Germany's DAX index rose 3.4% to 4,781.3.
