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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a mixed open Monday, as investors wait for central banks to decide if the global economy is in need of further stimulus measures this week.
U.S. stock futures were mixed.
Investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's annual speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo. later this week. Hopes are high that the whole debate over will-they-or-won't-they take steps to stimulate the economy may finally near a settlement.
Minutes from the Fed's two-day meeting released last week suggested that additional stimulus could come "fairly soon" unless the economic recovery regains substantial and sustainable strength. But a day later, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard talked down the odds of anything imminent, calling the minutes "a bit stale."
Additionally, Bernanke reiterated that the Fed still has room to boost the economy if needed last week, in a written reply to Rep. Darrell Issa. The remarks gave a boost to the U.S. stock market.
Related: Investors and economists agree: No QE3
Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention began Monday in Tampa, Fla. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, will deliver speeches that should shed more light on their proposed policies.
Addressing fears about food supply and inflated prices, representatives from the G20 countries will hold a conference call Monday. Food prices are surging, in part because of the U.S. drought and poor conditions in Russia.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, but were still down for the week.
World Markets: European stocks edged downward in morning trading. The DAX in Germany slid 0.1% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.4%. Britain was closed for a bank holiday.
The German business sentiment slipped for the fourth consecutive month in August, according to the Ifo Business Climate Index, signaling that there may be further weakness in Europe's largest economy.
Asian markets closed the day mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost 1.8% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.2%.
Economy: No U.S. economic reports are due out Monday.
Companies: The historic patent battle between Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Samsung came to an end Friday, as a California jury found Samsung had infringed on the majority of the patents in question -- including software features like double-tap zooming and scrolling -- and recommended that Apple be awarded more than $1 billion in damages.
Related: What the Apple-Samsung verdict means for your smartphone
Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro, but edged up versus the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for September delivery rose $1.02 to $97.17 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell 2 cents to $1,672.70 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.68% from 1.67% late Friday.
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