After a few initial bumps, August has turned into a great month for investors. Can Wall Street keep up the momentum this week?
Early indications are good. U.S. stock futures were all higher Monday and European markets advanced.
Here are the four things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:
1. Stock market movers -- Burger King, Tim Horton's, Roche, InterMune: Get ready for market reaction after Burger King (BKW) announced it's in talks to buy the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons (THI) in a deal that could see the burger chain move its headquarters to Canada and lower its tax bill.
Shares in Roche (RHHBY) were up by about 0.5% after the Swiss pharmaceutical giant announced it's paying $8.3 billion to buy Nasdaq-traded InterMune (ITMN). The offer represents a 38% premium compared to where InterMune shares closed on Friday.
2. French government shake-up: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has presented President Francois Hollande with his government's resignation, and a new government will be announced on Tuesday. Shares in the benchmark CAC 40 in Paris were higher by about 1% in early trading.
3. Economic data: New data on business sentiment in Germany shows confidence continues to deteriorate as the economy loses steam. Many German firms have suffered as tensions escalate with Russia, a major trading partner.
At 10 a.m. ET the U.S. Census Bureau will release data on new home sales.
4. Friday market recap: U.S. stocks closed mixed Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both slid about 0.2%, but the Nasdaq gained about 0.1%.
