Stocks set for a mixed open

By msnbc.com news services

U.S. stocks are set for a mixed open Monday.

Worries over Europe?s banks and caution ahead of Italian and Spanish debt sales this week left riskier assets vulnerable to further losses.

Attention is focused on a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy later today, which is likely to keep pressure on the euro although market expectations of any new announcements are low.

?We would be surprised if we saw concrete proof of fundamental progress towards a solution today (at the Merkel/Sarkozy meeting),? Investec chief economist Philip Shawsaid.

In positive economic news, German exports jumped in November, data showed on Monday, suggesting fourth quarter gross domestic product for Europe's bulwark economy may be stronger than expected, though its industrial output that month was subdued.

This follows Friday's jobs data in the U.S., which saw the jobless rate down to its lowest level in almost three years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/09/10069605-stocks-set-for-a-mixed-open

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