Editorial StaffPre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade on Monday after recording losses on Friday. All the three major indices recorded losses last week, with the Dow Jones dropping 4.1% and the S&P 500 down 4.8%.
The US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision on Wednesday, with markets expecting an interest rate increase of at least 75 basis points.
The housing market index for September is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The housing market index is expected to decline slightly to 48 in September from 49 in August.
Investors are also awaiting earnings results from Autozone Inc (NYSE: AZO) today.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 224 points to 30,698.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 30.50 points to 3,859.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 107 points to 11,826.50.
Commodities
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to trade at $90.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.4% to trade at $83.91 a barrel. The total number of active U.S. oil rigs climbed by 8 to 599 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
Gold futures fell 0.6% to trade at $1,672.70 an ounce, while silver traded down 0.1% at $19.37 an ounce on Monday.
A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%, London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dropped 0.3%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 1.1%, while German DAX dropped 0.5%.
Construction output in the Eurozone increased 1.5% year-over-year in July compared to a revised 1.3% rise a month ago.
Asia-Pacific Markets
Asian markets traded mostly lower today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.04% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.35%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX gained 0.6%.
Foreign direct investment into China increased 16.4% year-over-year to CNY 892.74 billion during the first eight months of the year, while People’s Bank of China reduced the borrowing cost of 14-day reverse repos from 2.25% to 2.15%. Hong Kong’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in the three months ending August, compared to 4.3% in the prior three-month period.
Source: MSN Money
