U.S. futures edge higher, focus on Fed tapering; Dow Jones up 0.04%

U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Monday, amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve may postpone the tapering of its bond-buying program. 

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.04% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% increase. 

Markets were jittery as concerns over the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the U.S. economic recovery fuelled expectations that the Fed would delay plans for rolling back its asset purchase program until at least the beginning of next year.

Investors were eyeing U.S. data releases later in the week after the shutdown delayed the release of some key economic reports. The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, was due on Tuesday. 

The telecom sector was expected to be active, after AT&T, the largest U.S. phone company, agreed to sell or lease 9,700 wireless towers to Crown Castle International for USD4.85 billion, giving it extra cash as it considers a European expansion. 

AT&T shares surged 2.57% in pre-market trade. 

Tech stocks were also likely to be in focus, as Google was up over 13% after the closing bell on Friday, thanks to better-than-expected earnings posted on Thursday afternoon. At least 16 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock to between USD880 and USD1,220. 

Google shares were still up 0.89% in early trading on Monday. 

In the financial sector, JPMorgan on Friday reached a tentative USD4 billion settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency on claims the bank misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about mortgages it sold to them. 

Elsewhere, Apple shares gained 0.67% pre-market, amid reports it is upgrading its iPad lineup to fend off a growing list of competitors, which are introducing their own tablets at lower prices with more attractive features. 

Other stocks likely to be in focus included McDonald's, Halliburton, Discover Financial, Netflix and Texas Instruments, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day. 

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.12%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.27%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.11%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.17%. 

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 0.91%. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.