U.S. stock futures tumbled on Wednesday, with notable pressure ahead for the technology sector and rising bond yields in focus, while investors also waited for private-sector payrolls data.
How are stock-index futures trading?
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
-1.06%
fell over 300 points, or 1%, to 33,833 -
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-1.24%
dropped 1.2% to 4,280 -
Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
-1.40%
dropped 1.4% to 14,444
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
rose 312 points, or 0.92%, to 34315, the S&P 500
SPX,
increased 45 points, or 1.05%, to 4346, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
gained 178 points, or 1.25%, to 14434.
What’s driving the market?
Rising bond yields were set to derail chances of any follow-up to Tuesday’s gains. Some investors were seeking haven in the U.S. dollar
DXY,
which rose as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
gained 2 basis points to 1.544%. European and most Asian stocks fell.
The combined effect of rising yields and a global energy crunch that seems to be approaching the U.S. is triggering “more negative sentiment,” said Saxo Bank’s chief investment officer, Steen Jakobsen, in a note to clients.
“Yesterday’s session failed to take out the previous day’s high, so if the energy crunch narrative builds today with yields extending their rise, then we could see a renewed selloff,” said Jakobsen.
U.S. natural-gas futures
NGX21,
rose 1.3% $6.312 per million British thermal units. after the highest finish since 2008 on Tuesday. Natural-gas prices tapped fresh records on Wednesday in the U.K. and Europe.
Technology stocks looked set to lead any selloff, as rising yields can be a negative for shares of fast-growing companies as they make those future cash flows appear less valuable.
Read: Analyst forecasts tech stock rebound of at least 10% and says rate fears will soon pass
Economic data will swing into focus for investors, with the ADP employment report for September due at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time. “The next big announcement on the radar is the U.S. jobs report on Friday — a weak number could prompt concern that we are heading for the dreaded stagflation scenario,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, in a note to clients.
What companies are in focus?
-
Shares of Palantir Technologies Inc.
PLTR,
+0.17%
jumped 10% in premarket trading, after the data-software company said it won an Army contract worth $823 million.
How are other assets trading?
-
Oil futures fell, with the U.S. benchmark
CL00,
-0.24%
down 0.5% to $78.52 a barrel. Gold futures
GC00,
-0.69%
dropped 0.8% to $1,747.60 an ounce. -
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
-1.82%
fell 1.8%, while London’s FTSE 100
UKX,
-1.66%
dropped 1.5%. -
The Hang Seng Index
HSI,
-0.57%
closed down 0.5% in Hong Kong, while Japan’s Nikkei 225
NIK,
-1.05%
dropped 1%. Markets in China remain closed for a holiday.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
