U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Monday, as growing concerns over tensions between Ukraine and Russia weighed on global equity markets, while markets eyed the release of U.S. data later in the day.Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.92% drop, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.07% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.08% loss.
Market sentiment weakened amid fears over the unfolding crisis in the Ukraine, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into the Crimea region over the weekend.The move sparked fears that the West will impose economic sanctions against Russia. Russia’s central bank hiked interest rates from 5.5% to 7% on Monday, after the rouble fell to new record lows against the euro and dollar.Markets were also jittery after official data on Saturday showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to an eight-month low in February, adding to fears over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
Tech stocks were expected to be active, amid reports Microsoft's newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is preparing to shuffle management and put former political operative Mark Penn in the new role of chief strategy officer, in a move to boost growth.Twitter was also likely to be in focus, as the microblogging site was flooded with traffic after Academy Awards host Ellen DeGeneres took a group photot during the event and set the record for the most-retweeted post ever.
http://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/u.s.-futures-tumble-amid-geopolitical-tensions;-dow-jones-down-0.92-269752
No comments:
Post a Comment