Futures are lower

US stock futures have their toes in the red at the start of the final trading day of February.

Near 7:41 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 15 points S&P 500 futures were down 1 point, and Nasdaq futures were down 9 points.

International markets were also lower in trading on Monday, with China's Shanghai composite dropping 3% to the lowest level in 14 months.

The central bank unexpectedly announced it was cutting the reserve requirement ratio - the amount banks must hold - by 0.5% to boost liquidity in the financial system.

Ahead of today's trading session, the S&P 500 was on track to end February barely higher. Gold was heading for its best month in four years, with futures up 1%, or $12.40 an ounce to $1,232.80 in early trade.

Crude oil was just a bit higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude up by less than 1%, and near $32.86 per barrel.

Stocks rallied last week after economic data continued to squash the argument for an imminent recession.

It's a busy week for US economic data, including the jobs report on Friday that will be the final one before the Federal Reserve's meeting on March 16.

Today, Chicago PMI, pending home sales, and Dallas Fed manufacturing activity data are set for release.

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