U.S. stock futures are lower in pre-market trading for Monday, August 21.The Dow Futures are trading at 21,674.50 with a loss of -0.02% percent or -3.00 point. The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,426.62 with a loss of -0.01% percent or -0.13% point.The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 5,797.12 with a loss of -0.07% percent or -4.13 point.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 19,393.13 with a loss of –0.40% percent or –77.28 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 27,164.04 for up with +0.43% percent or  +116.47 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,283.98 for up with  +0.47% percent or +15.26 point. India’s S&P BSE Sensex are trading at 31,441.14 with a loss of –0.26% percent or –83.54 point at 12:15 PM. In Europe, the FTSE 100 are trading at 7,331.02 for up with  +0.10% percent or +7.04 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 12,130.18 with a loss of –0.29% percent or –35.01 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,098.49 with a loss of –0.31% percent or –15.66 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 373.98 with a loss of -0.06% percent or -0.22 point.

Monday’s Factors and Events

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat-to-higher open on Monday, as investors look to the U.S. political sphere for cues on how to trade.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average implied a gain of 28.5 points for the index at the open, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures indicated the indexes would rise 2.5 points and 2.94 points, respectively.

Last Friday, U.S. stocks closed off their session lows following news that one of President Donald Trump’s top advisors Steve Bannon had departed from his role at the White House.

Friday’s Activity

U.S. market were lower on Friday. For the day The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,674.51 with a loss of –0.35% percent or –76.22 point.The S&P 500 closed at 2,425.55 with a loss of –0.18% percent or –4.46 point.The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,216.53 with a loss of –0.09% percent or –5.39 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,357.79 with a loss of -0.08% percent or -1.15 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 818.38 with a loss of –0.18% percent or –1.45 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,692.30 with a loss of –0.23% percent or –3.84 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,073.52 with a loss of –0.24% percent or –2.59 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,431.52 with a loss of –0.18% percent or –2.52 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,342.68 with a loss of –0.18% percent or –2.46 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 21,674.51 with a loss of –0.35% percent or –76.22 point.