US pre-open: Wall Street set for lower open as investors pause for breath

US futures pointed to a slightly weaker open on Wall Street despite a rebound in oil prices, as investors paused for breath following three weeks of gains.

At 1220 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.2%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were both 0.4% lower.

Meanwhile, oil prices were in the black. West Texas Intermediate was up 1.7% to $36.52 a barrel and Brent crude was 1.4% higher at $39.26.

“This afternoon will likely see US markets replicate the aimless moves witnessed in Europe so far this morning,” said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG.

“The temptation to go short after such a strong bounce remains high, especially given the close below 2000 on the S&P 500 on Friday, but beneath the surface investors still don’t seem confident about the longevity of the rally. This, therefore, is perhaps the strongest argument as to why we will go higher from here.”

There are no major data releases due on Monday but investors will keep a close eye on speeches from Federal Reserve vice chair Stanley Fischer and Fed governor Lael Brainard later in the day for any clues on the health of the US economy ahead of the rate decision on 16 March.

The main regional indices in Europe were on the back foot as investors booked some profits following recent gains and shifted their focus to the European Central Bank rate announcement on Thursday.

The market is pricing in a 13 basis points facility cut, a six-month extension of quantitative easing and a €10bn increase in the pace of QE.

In Asia, China’s National People's Congress (NPC) cut its economic targets over the weekend to between 6.5% and 7%. This was down from last year’s target of around 7%.

The Nikkei 225 closed in the red but China’s Shanghai Composite ended up after officials outlined plans to bolster the country’s flagging growth.

On the corporate front, DuPont was likely to be in focus following media reports BASF is considering a counterbid for the US firm, which agreed a merger with Dow Chemical last year.

Elsewhere, Micron Technology shares dropped in pre-market trade after Nomura cut its rating on the stock to ‘reduce'.