International were generally stronger on Friday night.

In Europe the FTSE added 31 points (+0.6%) whilst the CAC lost 0.5% and the DAX jumped 1.2%.

Stateside, the Dow Jones put on 76 points (+0.7%) to settle at 11509, whilst the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.6% each.

Heading into the new trading week index futures are pointing sharply lower with Aussie and US futures already pointing to a 1% fall this morning.

To the week ahead, traders and investors will likely be focused on the US Federal Reserve and Europe, where leaders are still struggling to contain the region's debt crisis.

The US economic calendar is fairly light this week on data releases, with the market set to receive several housing reports, the index of leading indicators, and the usual weekly applications for jobless claims.

The key event, however, will be the Fed’s FOMC meeting. Traders are anticipating policy-makers will introduce some form of monetary stimulus to help revive the US economy.

There is no major local data due out for today's session.