Global Markets Mixed at Start of Key Week

U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat to modestly higher open at the start of a key week, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point. With an uncertain rate path in the new year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments will be closely monitored. U.S. weekly jobless claims and trade data for September are due Thursday. There are also central bank decisions from Australia on Tuesday, Canada on Wednesday and Switzerland on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Chinese government data earlier on Monday showed that its trade surplus topped $1 trillion this year, comfortably beating forecasts.