Global stocks mostly lower ahead of U.S. earnings

BEIJING - Global stock markets were mostly lower Monday as investors looked ahead to U.S. corporate earnings following last week's strong job numbers.

Oil fell below $104 per barrel as expectations of increased supply offset strong U.S. job growth.

Markets gave up some of last week's gains that followed news the United States generated a stronger-than-expected 288,000 jobs in June, a sign an economic recovery might be gaining traction.

"The market saw another piece of evidence that the U.S. economy is gathering steam while at the same time central bank rhetoric remains dovish," said Credit Agricole CIB in a report.

In Europe, France's CAC-40 shed 0.3 percent to 4,455.11 and Germany's DAX was off 0.2 percent to 9,990.38. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent to 6,850.14.

Wall Street futures augured losses Monday even as expectations build for strong quarterly earnings. The Dow closed above 17,000 for the first time Thursday ahead of the three-day Independent Day weekend.

"Companies in the U.S. are widely expected to report better earnings after the winter slumber," said Desmond Chua of CMC Markets in a report.

Dow futures were down 0.2 percent at 16,949 and S&P 500 futures lost 0.2 percent to 1,973.60.

In Asia, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was little changed while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.4 percent to 15,379.44. Sydney and Seoul also declined.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 23,540.92. Taiwan, India and Jakarta rose.

U.S. crude for August delivery was down 26 cents to $103.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract sunk as low as $103.70 on Friday before closing at $104.06.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3598 from $1.3594 late Friday. The dollar fell to 101.93 yen from 102.08 yen.