Good morning traders!

In the US Friday, the Dow fell 70 points to 15,258, the Nasdaq lost 5 points at 3,782
and the S&P500 shed 7 points at 1,692.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently down 190 points at 14,570 and the Hang Seng
off 256 points at 22,951.

WTI crude oil traded at $102.87 a barrel and Brent crude at $108.63.

Gold settled at $1,338 an ounce.

Happy Monday!

G.

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FTSE Futures Chart

European Factors to Watch-Shares set to drop on Italian, U.S. politics

Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:25am BST
PARIS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - European stocks are seen dropping on Monday, as a
fresh political crisis in Italy and the prospect of a shutdown of the U.S.
government spook investors.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open 61 to 62
points lower, or down 1 percent, Germany's DAX to open 49 to 56 points
lower, or down 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 to open 24 to 26 points
lower, or down 0.6 percent, and Italy's FTSE MIB to open around 292
points lower, or down 1.7 percent.

Italy's president began talks on Sunday to pull the country out of a new
political crisis, attempting to undercut a move by former Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi to bring down the government and force new elections seven months
after the last vote.

In Washington, chances that Republicans and Democrats could reach a deal on
funding the government before the fiscal year ends at midnight on Monday seems
increasingly thin.

On Sunday, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a
measure that ties government funding to a one-year delay of President Barack
Obama's landmark healthcare restructuring law, while Senate Democrats have
vowed to reject it.

UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Monday September 30

Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:24am BST
(Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening lower on Monday, with futures off 1 percent by 0619 GMT before the cash market open, on political jitters in both Italy and the United States.

Nikkei drops most in 6 weeks as U.S. political concerns bite

Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:26am BST
TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average
logged its biggest drop in six weeks on Monday as investors went
into risk-off mode and took profits on recent gainers amid
growing concerns over a possible U.S. government shutdown.

The benchmark Nikkei shed 2.1 percent to 14,455.80,
its biggest one-day fall since Aug. 20. But the index rose 8
percent this month, posting its first monthly gain in five, and
is up 39 percent this year.

The broader Topix dropped 1.9 percent to 1,194.10.
Trading volume was at a three-week low, with 2.70 billion shares
changing hands.

Market participants were also awaiting an announcement by
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the government's economic growth
and tax strategy on Tuesday.

FTSE100 firmly lower as US budget woes spook investors

GBP Net Lending to Individuals m/m 1.6B 1.6B 1.3B

GBP M4 Money Supply m/m 0.7% 0.7% 0.6%

GBP Mortgage Approvals 62K 61K 61K

EUR CPI Flash Estimate y/y 1.1% 1.3% 1.3%

EUR Italian Prelim CPI m/m -0.3% 0.3% 0.4%

FTSE100 firmly lower in midday trade as US open looms

CAD GDP m/m 0.6% 0.6% -0.5%

CAD RMPI m/m 0.9% 3.2% 4.3%

CAD IPPI m/m 0.2% 0.9% 0.3%

FTSE100 ends lower after a day spent firmly in the red