What you need to know before the US open
S&P 500 futures suggest a muted, probably lower, open for US markets.
Stocks around the world have been coming off six-year peaks after unexpectedly weak Chinese trade data and ongoing Ukraine worries.
And after the buzz around Friday’s jobs numbers, which saw bourses hit fresh highs, there are no economic data releases of note today.
Over in Canada, housing starts increase by more-than-expected in February, rising to 192,094.
Corporate news
There’s more this afternoon on the intensifying spat between Carl Icahn and eBay.
Icahn’s published another open letter on eBay. This time, he’s claiming eBay’s chief executive has cost shareholders $4bn owing to his “incompetence”.
Meanwhile, eBay’s rejected two candidates Icahn’s seeking to have elected onto its board.
McDonald’s saw a bigger-than-expected sales decline of 1.4 per cent in February – its fourth in a row. The fast food titan has been struggling to up sales, particularly in the US.
Sbarro, the US pizza chain, has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in three years.
US-based Mineral Technologies has agreed to buy Amcol International for $1.7bn.