Risk assets fell across the board on Monday as Asian markets saw a massive sell-off after a weekend decision by the euro zone to force depositors in Cyprus to contribute towards a bailout sparked concerns of contagion across other peripheral countries.
U.S. stock index futures remained largely unchanged following the latest round of economic reports, with the S&P 500 within 2 points of hitting its all-time closing high.
European shares closed lower on Friday as as investors booked gains after a 10-day global rally.
Japanese shares hit a four-and-a-half-year high on Friday on optimism over monetary stimulus, while other Asian markets recovered from previous losses after a strong U.S jobless claims report revealed that a recovery was well under way in the world's largest economy.
European shares rose on Thursday, resuming the two-week rally that has propelled indexes to multi-year highs.
European shares were flat on Friday as talks over the "fiscal cliff" stalled.