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The economic calendar is active today, with potentially important reports in Europe and the U.S.

The biggest one from across the Atlantic is Germany's ZEW survey of investor sentiment at 5 a.m. ET. The last report was surprisingly strong and helped drive the euro and equities higher.

European industrial production comes out at the same time. Given the importance of events in Europe recently, it could affect risk appetite across the board.

The first U.S. report is at 7:30 a.m. ET, when the National Federation of Independent Business releases its confidence index. While the report has little direct impact on the market, it is a good measure of longer-term business and hiring trends. Economists predict that it will rise to a 95 reading from 93.8 last month.

The biggest data point of the morning is January retail sales at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists are looking for a 0.6 percent gain excluding auto sales, versus a contraction of 0.2 percent the preceding month. A strong reading could significantly boost equities, while a miss could dampen investor sentiment.

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