US pre-open: Stocks seen muted amid ongoing trade war worries

US futures pointed to a muted open on Wall Street on Monday as investors continued to fret about trade relations between the US and China.

At 1255 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were flat.

The downbeat mood came after China on Sunday summoned the US and Canadian ambassadors to Beijing to protest the detention of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Manzhou.

Meanwhile, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said over the weekend that he considers 1 March a "hard deadline" to reach a trade deal with China.

Speaking on CBS show 'Face the Nation', Lighthizer said: "As far as I am concerned it is a hard deadline. When I talk to the president of the United States he is not talking about going beyond March.

"The way this is set up is that at the end of 90 days, these tariffs will be raised," he said.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said the hawkishness of the comments "has added to the negative sentiment at time when tension between the US and China is rising after the arrest of the Huawei CFO".

On the corporate front, ConocoPhillips was likely to be in focus after the company said it expects to buy back $3bn of shares next year and to spend $6.1bn on capex.

Elsewhere, Tesla shares could be active after chief executive Elon Musk appeared on '60 Minutes' defending himself and the company against what he referred to as "relentless criticism".

On the data front, JOLTS job openings for October are due at 1500 GMT.