U.S. stock index futures declined Monday, extending their losses following a sharp selloff in the previous session on the heels of a disappointing jobs report and ahead of Alcoa's earnings report after the bell.
Euro zone finance ministersare scheduled to meet in Brussels to further hammer out plans to reinforce the single currency but experts say their talks may do little more than highlight the limitations of last month's deal to help indebted states and banks.
Shares fell sharply last Friday as another month of tepid jobs growth underlined fears the economy was stalling, although it raised hopes for a further easing in monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, one of the Fed's most dovish policymakers, said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Sasin Bangkok Forum on Monday that U.S. policymakers should unleash a new round of bond purchases to bring down unemployment, even at the risk of driving inflation temporarily higher.
China's annual consumer inflationcooled more than expected to 2.2 percent in June, from May's 3.0 percent, giving Beijing more scope to ease monetary policy to support growth without stoking upward price pressures.
The news comes after China's central bank unexpectedly cut benchmark interest rates last week for the second time in a month in a bid to bolster growth.
Consumer credit figures for May will be released at 3 pm ET.
Alcoa kicks off the earnings season after the close. The aluminum giant is seen managing only a 5 cent per share profit for the past three months according to a Reuters poll of analysts.
