Stocks: Bracing for an early sell-off

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a weak open Friday as worries about Europe intensify and investors focus on the fate of Portugal and Spain.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all sharply lower ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Concerns about the long-term debt problems facing some European economies have weighed on stocks in recent weeks, a trend that continues today.

"Most focus remains on euroland with Ireland in trouble, and Portugal and even Spain under attack now," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners.

Last weekend the Irish government finally relented and asked the International Monetary Fund and European Union for a bailout to help backstop losses at its major banks. That raised fears about the state of the other so-called PIIGS and led to some wild swings in U.S. markets this week.

Shares of the Bank of Ireland (IRE) and Allied Irish Bank (AIB) were both decidedly lower, but at about $1 a share, any small sell-off looks big. In other international stocks, Portugal Telecom (PT) edged down about 1%, while shares of Banco Santander (STD) fell more than 5%.

The selling spilled over to U.S. banks. Shares of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) were all about 1% lower in premarket trading.

Trading volume in U.S. markets is expected to be light and that could lead to some exaggerated moves, Cardillo said. All U.S. markets were dark Thursday and will close Friday at 1 p.m. ET.

Retail stocks will also be on the radar, as consumers across the nation flock to stores for Black Friday related deals. The day after Thanksgiving is one of the most lucrative for retailers, as this is time when most hope to move "into the black" for the year.

But with no economic reports or corporate results on the agenda, the few investors in the market are taking their cues from developments overseas -- including the volatile situation on the Korean peninsula. Investors are also worried about China's efforts to avoid an economic crash landing by curbing bank lending.

World markets: European stocks were lower across the board. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.6%, the DAX in Germany dropped 1.3% and France's CAC 40 dipped by 1.6%

Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.9%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei lost 0.4%

Companies: Del Monte Foods (DLM), the pet food and consumer products manufacturer, agreed on Thursday to be purchased by a group of investors led by private equity firm KKR (KKR) in a deal worth $5.3 billion. The buyers will pay $19.00 per share in cash -- a premium of roughly 40% over Del Monte's share price, before rumors of the deal elevated shares in recent weeks.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar strengthened against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for January delivery slipped 67 cents to $83.19.

Gold futures for December delivery dropped $12.00 to $1,361.00.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.88%.