By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Apple in focus after big hint on self-driving car

U.S. stock futures pointed to an upbeat session for Wall Street on Monday, with momentum driven by a rebound for European equities, which shook off a "no" vote in Italy's referendum on Sunday and pushed higher.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 85 points, or 0.4%, to 19,240, while those for the S&P 500 gained 8.65 points, or 0.4%, to 2,200.75. Nasdaq-100 futures jumped 23 points, or 0.5%, to 4,761.50.

Recovering from weak premarket action, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.4%, with Italy's FTSE MIB index up 0.3%. Investors did not seem that concerned or surprised by Italian voters rejecting constitutional changes backed by their government.

The government had argued the changes would have made it easier to pass laws, notably those aimed at making the country more competitive. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced he would resign on the heels of the result.

The move creates some uncertainty for Europe's fourth-largest economy, and was viewed as a win for Italian euroskeptics, specifically the 5 Star Movement, which has campaigned for the country to leave the euro.

Read:What to know now that Italy has voted 'no,' with Renzi set to step down (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-know-now-that-italy-has-voted-no-with-renzi-set-to-step-down-2016-12-04)

U.S. investors appeared ready to take the news in stride.

"Perhaps the backing of the central bank to contain any negative fallout is helping to keep investor spirits up, even though the result itself may have just presented an opportunity to another antiestablishment movement that favors a referendum on eurozone membership," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, in emailed comments.

The bulk of the reaction fell on the euro , which hit a 21-month low against the dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-tumbles-to-21-month-low-against-dollar-after-italys-no-vote-2016-12-05) before paring some of those losses.

Due for a breather? U.S. stocks ended last week largely lower, with weaker-than-expected payrolls data weighing on equities Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-set-to-drop-from-record-high-as-trump-rally-fizzles-2016-12-02). The S&P 500 index fell 1% on the week, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.7%, its worst weekly loss since before the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Those weekly losses came amid concerns that Wall Street is due for a breather (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-trump-rally-in-the-stock-market-may-be-turning-into-a-bubble-2016-12-03) after a run-up in stocks since the surprise election win for Donald Trump.

Economic reports for Monday include the Markit services purchasing managers index for November at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time, and the Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index for the same month, due at 10 a.m. Eastern.

On the Federal Reserve front, New York Fed president William Dudley speech is due to speak at 8:30 a.m. Eastern in the Big Apple, addressing the economic outlook and monetary policy.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is slated to talk on the same topic in the Windy City at 9:25 a.m. Eastern, and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is on tap to deliver a speech in Phoenix at 2:05 p.m.

Stocks to watch: Manufacturer Rexnord Corp.'s stock (RXN) could be in focus after President-Elect Trump criticized the company's plans (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-criticizes-indiana-based-rexnard-over-plans-to-send-jobs-to-mexico-2016-12-05) to relocate an Indianapolis-based factory to Mexico, and took to Twitter to emphasize his disapproval of such actions.

Apple Inc.(AAPL) has written a letter to U.S. regulators offering feedback on proposed guidelines for self-driving cars (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-drops-hints-about-its-work-on-a-self-driving-car-2016-12-03) and other machine-learning technology. It is the biggest hint thus far that the tech giant is working on autonomous vehicles.

Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) , meanwhile, has emerged as a contender for the secretary of state, a Trump transition adviser has said, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/exxon-ceo-emerges-as-contender-for-donald-trumps-secretary-of-state-2016-12-04) confirming earlier reports.

Other markets:Asian stocks were unable to shake off losses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-shares-fall-led-by-banks-as-investors-rattled-by-italian-referendum-2016-12-05), with banks leading the way south on fears the Italy "no" vote could hurt the country's banking system and spread globally. The Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2%.

   Gold   and silver prices were off around 1% each. 

WTI crude prices reversed earlier losses to push above $52 a barrel, while Brent was higher, trading around $55 a barrel.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 05, 2016 05:21 ET (10:21 GMT)