Stock futures broadly rise, despite Crimea vote

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market was poised to open higher Monday, as investors brushed aside the ongoing political turmoil in Ukraine.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 77 points to 16,069 as of 9 a.m. Eastern time. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures were up nine points to 1,842 and the Nasdaq futures were up 19 points to 3,640.

UKRAINE WORRIES: Confirmation that the people of the Ukrainian region of Crimea have voted to join Russia caused barely a ripple in financial markets Monday, partly because the verdict had been widely expected. Worries that the Crimea issue might prompt an escalation in tensions between Russia and Western powers have driven financial markets over the past few weeks. In the run-up to Sunday's referendum, many stock markets around the world hit multi-week lows while 'safe haven' investments such as the Japanese yen and gold advanced. While the vote further widened the dispute between Russia and the West, stock futures Monday showed that investors expect the U.S. and European reaction to be relatively mild. The While House is expected to announce sanctions and visa restrictions against several Russian nationals. The European Union is expected to do the same.

EUROPE: The European stock indexes were mostly higher as well on Monday, despite the Ukraine vote. Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent while France's CAC-40 index was up 0.7 percent.

CAFFEINE BOOST: Shares of Keurig Green Mountain were up 3 percent in pre-market trading after Standard & Poor's announced the coffee company would join the S&P 500. Many mutual funds have to own shares in the members of the S&P 500, so Keurig is expected to see heavy trading Monday.