U.S. stocks are poised to open in negative territory on Monday, as security worries sparked by Israel's killing of the spiritual leader of the militant group Hamas coupled with a light economic calendar, leave investors little incentive to buy equities. Earlier Monday, Israel assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin outside a Gaza mosque, dealing its heaviest blow against the militant group that was behind dozens of suicide bombings. Previous assassinations of militants have triggered waves of suicide bombings and deepened violence that has stalled a U.S.-backed peace plan. The killing drew vows of revenge from Hamas, which the United States brands as a terrorist group. Equity futures pointed to a sharply lower open. Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures for June were down 8.30 points at 1,099, while Nasdaq 100 futures for the same month were down 14 points at 1,386. Dow industrial futures were down 75 points at 10,079. "Futures are down due to general global instability," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. Besides the killing in Israel, investors were also worried about political instability in Taiwan, where the local stock market fell by 7 percent after President Chen Shui-bian's wafer-thin election victory over the weekend was challenged by his opponent Lien Chan, Boockvar added.
"There's geopolitical uncertainty around the word. The markets' been in a corrective phase, and in such a phase don't shrug off negative news as easily," Boockvar said. No major economic data is scheduled for Monday. But investors will be watching out for indicators on monthly durable goods orders, gross domestic product, and weekly jobless claims due later this week for signs that the economic recovery is on track. On the earnings plate, Carnival Corp and plc , the world's biggest cruise group, and Walgreen Co. , the top U.S. drugstore chain, are due to report results before the market opens. In overseas action, European shares fell, as heightened security concerns and a lack of positive corporate news gave investors little reason to buy stocks. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> fell 1.6 percent to 962 points, while the narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> gave up 1.9 percent to 2,717 points. Overnight in Tokyo, Japanese stocks ended lower for a second straight day on Monday, as a profit warning from Sanyo Electric hurt technology shares. Exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. also wilted in sympathy with Wall Street's decline on Friday and instability in the currency market. The benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> lost 0.88 percent to close at 11,318.51, while the broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> shed 0.58 percent to 1,131.50. U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, sending the Dow down more than 100 points, in a volatile session driven by the expiration of various derivatives and aggravated by security fears as the hunt for al Qaeda leaders intensified in Pakistan. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> ended down 109.18 points, or 1.06 percent, at 10,186.60, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gave up 12.54 points, or 1.12 percent, to finish at 1,109.78. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 21.97 points, or 1.12 percent, to 1,940.47.///