AIRLINES WEIGH ON EUROPE'S TRAVEL AND LEISURE STOCKS (0913 EST/1312 GMT)
Europe's travel and leisure index is flashing green, outperforming the wider index with a 0.9% gain while the STOXX 600 is currently only 0.5% higher.
But zooming in, the story is more complicated, with leisure doing the heavy lifting as travel stocks topple.
Airlines are suffering, with Easyjet down about 1.7%, Wizz Air falling 2.7% and BA-owner IAG down 0.4%. Ryanair and Deutsche Lufthansa are down 1.1% and 0.7% respectively.
Flight disruption in the UK is topping headlines today after EasyJet cancelled hundreds of flights due to staff sickness levels amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in the country.
Meanwhile gaming company Evolution is lifting the travel and leisure index, up 5.6%. Betting giant Flutter Entertainment is 0.94% higher and French lottery operator FDJ is 1.2% up.
U.S. FUTURES MODESTLY HIGHER AS TWITTER SURGES (0847 EDT/1247 GMT)
U.S. futures were little changed on Monday, slowly losing steam as the opening bell approached in a somewhat light week for economic data with eyes on the latest round of talks between Ukraine and Russia as the West mulls more sanctions against Moscow.
As global outrage grew following civilian killings in North Ukraine, the possibility of additional sanctions against Russia by the U.S. and Europe increased, while peace talks between Moscow and Ukraine were poised to restart on Monday.
The S&P 500 used a late flurry to the upside to snap a two-day losing skid on Friday, following a payrolls report that was widely expected to keep the Federal Reserve on its aggressive monetary policy path, which expectations solidifying for a 50 basis point hike at its May meeting.
Shares of Twitter surged more than 20% in premarket trade, however, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in the social media company.
Below is your premarket snapshot:
(Chuck Mikolajczak)
FOR MONDAY'S LIVE MARKETS' POSTS PRIOR TO 0900 EDT/1300 GMT - CLICK HERE: