(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 225 17,099.4 -272.18 -1.57%

Hang Seng 23,027.85 -221.35 -0.95%

Shanghai Composite 2,953.42 +15.25 +0.52%

FTSE 100 6,182.72 -117.91 -1.87%

CAC 40 4,005.38 -103.55 -2.52%

Xetra DAX 9,334.01 -260.72 -2.72%

S&P 500 1,989.63 -12.70 -0.63%

NASDAQ Composite 4,605.16 -48.44 -1.04%

Dow Jones 17,180.84 -99.99 -0.58%

Stock indices closed lower as oil prices continue to decline. Investors have concerns that falling oil prices is a sign of global economic weakness.

Concerns over political instability in Greece also weighed on markets.

Germany's Bundesbank released its monthly report. Bundesbank said that if oil prices continue to decline, it will cut its inflation forecast for 2015 by 0.4%. Bundesbank expects inflation of 1.1% in 2015.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,182.72 -117.91 -1.87%

DAX 9,334.01 -260.72 -2.72%

CAC 40 4,005.38 -103.55 -2.52%

U.S. stock futures rose as energy companies advanced and corporate deals boosted confidence in the strength of the economy.

Global markets:

Nikkei 17,099.4 -272.18 -1.57%

Hang Seng 23,027.85 -221.35 -0.95%

Shanghai Composite 2,953.66 +15.48 +0.53%

FTSE 6,288.13 -12.50 -0.20%

CAC 4,114.42 +5.49 +0.13%

DAX 9,603.59 +8.86 +0.09%

Crude oil $57.78 (-0.09%)

Gold $1208.80 (-1.14%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

Upgrades:

Exxon Mobil (XOM) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets

Downgrades:

Ford (F) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Other:

Twitter (TWTR) initiated at Mkt Outperform at JMP Securities, target $49

As oil prices recovered from early session/5-1/2-year lows European stock indices followed - driven by the energy sector. Indices recouped some of last week's losses. The FTSE 100 index added +0.37% quoted at 6,324.09 points. U.K. CBI industrial trends orders rose unexpectedly from 3 to 5. France's CAC 40 gained +0.37% trading at 4,124.03 and Germany's DAX 30 is up +0.14 at 9,608.17 points. Markets await the NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index and data on U.S. Industrial production later in the day.

European indices recover in early trading after Friday's selloff and the biggest weekly decline in three years caused by weak Chinese data and a slump in oil prices. Energy shares recover after last weeks decline caused by falling oil prices. The FTSE 100 index is currently trading +0.09% quoted at 6,306.53 points, Germany's DAX 30 added +0.13% trading at 9,606.89. France's CAC 40 rose by +0.23%, currently trading at 4,118.28 points. Markets await the Bundesbank's Monthly Report and U.K's CBI Industrial Order Books Balance due at 11:00 GMT and later in the day the NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index and data on U.S. Industrial production.

U.S. markets slumped on Friday. The DOW JONES lost -1.79% closing at 17,280.83 points, the S&P 500 declined -1.62%, with a final quote of 2,002.33 points. It was the worst performing week of the S&P index since May 2012 although the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 93.8 in December from a final reading of 88.8 in November, exceeding expectations for an increase to 89.6. Falling oil prices and weak data from China fuelled concerns about global demand and overshadowed the strong U.S. consumer confidence data.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading -1.05% at 23,004.50. China's Shanghai Composite closed at 2,953.66 points, a gain of +0.53%.

Japan's Nikkei lost -1.57% closing at 17,099.40 at a four-year low although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led his ruling coalition to a landslide victory at this weekend's snap elections securing a two-third majority of the lower house of parliament now controlling 325 of the 475 seats. The outcome of the elections backs up Prime Minister Abe's "Abenomics", his structural reforms and monetary and fiscal stimulus