Cautious trading sends European stock futures down

European stock markets were down on Monday as a result of cautious trading in view of the start of the U.S. earnings season and discouraging important economic data.

Germany’s DAX futures contract was down 0.4%. The FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. dropped 0.5%. The CAC 40 futures contract in France inched down 1.2%.

In the past weeks, the DAX and the STOXX 600 have both reached all-time highs, thanks to the steady pace of the global economic recovery from Covid-19.  Meanwhile, The CAC 40 is at a 20-year high.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street is on to its first-quarter earnings season this week, with giant banking institutions such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo are set to release their earnings report on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude futures dipped 0.5% at $59.03 a barrel, while the Brent contract declined 0.5% to $62.63. Both contracts are down more than 9% in March.