European stocks opened slightly lower, with the Spanish stock market down over 1%. Dow Jones futures fell by 270 points

European stocks opened slightly weaker, with the market focusing on the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as well as reports that U.S. President Trump is considering action against Iran. U.S. stock futures fell.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 1.61 points or 0.3%, closing at 608.06 points; the UK FTSE 100 index dropped by 12 points or 0.1%, closing at 10,112 points; the French CAC 40 index decreased by 40 points or 0.5%, closing at 8,321 points; the German DAX index fell by 1 point, closing at 25,260 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index declined by 191 points or 1.1%, closing at 17,457 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index dropped by 289 points or 0.6%, closing at 45,429 points. In individual stocks, BE Semiconductor Industries expects fourth-quarter orders to rise 43% quarter-on-quarter to €250 million, and increase 1.05 times year-on-year. The stock rose by 6.7%. Heineken's chairman and CEO announced intentions to step down in May, and the stock fell by 2.5%.

U.S. stock futures fell, with Dow futures down by 276 points or 0.6%, closing at 49,450 points; S&P 500 futures dropped by 46 points or 0.7%, closing at 6,959 points; Nasdaq 100 futures fell by 257 points or 1%, closing at 25,681 points.

In the Asia-Pacific stock markets, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.1%, reaching a more than ten-year high, the Shenzhen Component Index increased by 1.7%, and the Hang Seng Index rose by 1.4%. The Taiwan and South Korean stock markets hit record highs, closing up by 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. The Singapore and Indian stock markets rose by 0.6% and 0.2%, while the Australian stock market increased by 0.5%. The Japanese stock market was closed for a holiday