Monday Morning Market Roundup: Stocks, Oil, & Gold Not Looking So Hot

Here's what's shaking:

Stocks:

Getty Images.

Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street following sharp drops in commodities prices and declines in European markets.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 43 points at 14,741. Nasdaq 100 futures are off 11 points at 2,835.2. S&P 500 futures are down 7 points at 1,575.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell seven points to 1,581, a loss of 0.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,282.

In Europe, major indexes are down about 1 percent. Asian stocks also fell.

Oil:

Getty Images.

The price of oil dropped to near $89 a barrel on Monday, its lowest level since mid-December, as a slowdown in China's growth added to doubts about the strength of the world economy and global demand for crude.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for May delivery was down $2.28 to $89.01 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On Friday, the Nymex contract fell $2.22 to $91.29.

Oil consumption is expected to rise this year, even if at a slower pace than previously expected.

“There is thus no fundamental explanation for the $10 price slide over the past two weeks, which is due above all to other factors such as market sentiment, short-term momentum, charts and selling by money managers,” Commerzbank in Frankfurt said.

In London, Brent crude was down $1.79 to $101.25 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.