Stocks: New leaders, new week

Click chart for more premarket action.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were set to edge lower Monday, as Greece and Italy swap out leaders, and investors remain cautious about how much these transitions will help resolve Europe's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were down slightly ahead of the opening bell Monday morning. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Over the weekend, embattled Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down, after the government passed a package of austerity measures. Former European Union commissioner Mario Monti was nominated to lead Italy.

Investors will be watching Italian bond yields closely Monday, after a €3 billion of 5-year bonds generated decent demand.

Yields on both the 5-year and 10-year bonds still remain around 6.5%. Last week, the 10-year Italian yield spiked to a record high above 7% -- a level that eventually led to bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Greece swore in a new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, last Friday. Papademos, a former banker and European Central Bank vice president, will now move to form a new national unity government.

New week, same old 'yo-yo' market

Greece's new government is expected to pass the controversial bailout package European leaders agreed to in October, allowing the country to pay its bills next month and avoid immediate default.

Even with the leadership changes, Europe's debt crisis is far from over and investors will remain on edge until there is a more clear road to recovery.

U.S. stocks rallied Friday, finishing a choppy week of trading higher last week, as investors welcomed political transitions in Greece in Italy.

World markets: European stocks turned lower in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) ticked down 0.5% and the DAX (DAX) in Germany lost 1.1%, while France's CAC 40 (CAC40) slipped 1.6%.

Japan's economy grew at a 6% annual rate in the third quarter, according to gross domestic product figures released Monday.

Why Germany needs the euro

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) climbed 1.9%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong jumped 1.9% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) rose 1%.

Companies: Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) said Monday it won the largest commercial airplane order in the company's history: an $18 billion order from Dubai-based Emirates Airline for 50 Boeing 777-300ERs. Shares of the airline company rose 3% in premarket trading.

Warren Buffett told CNBC early Monday that his company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500), is boosting its stake in IBM (IBM, Fortune 500). Shares of IBM edged slightly higher in early trading.

Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500) reported a 44% drop in third-quarter profit Monday. Shares of the home improvement giant fell 1% ahead of the opening bell. Retailer J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) also reported earnings before the market open. The company's profits met estimates, but guidance was below forecasts. The stock fell 2% in pre-market trading.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained strength against the euro and British pound, but fell versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for December delivery slipped 75 cents to $98.24 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery fell $7.50 to $1,780.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged lower, pushing the yield up to 2.08 from 2.06% late Friday.