By Barbara Kollmeyer and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures fell Monday, as
investors took in news of a deadly weekend in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and potentially tougher sanctions from
Europe against Russia in the wake of the downing of a Malaysia
Airlines passenger jet.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) lost 39
points to 16,993, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) fell
4.4 points to 1,967.20. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4)
lost 3.75 points to 3,926.50
"We are seeing a push toward more defensive sectors [in Europe]
and expect that to follow suit when U.S. markets open," said Brenda
Kelly, chief market strategist at IG .
There are no economic events for Monday and a scant amount of
earnings, leaving investors to face down a weekend of rising global
tensions. On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry was caught on an
open microphone, ahead of interviews with Sunday talk shows,
criticizing Israeli's Gaza operation after the deadliest day of
fighting for both sides since the conflict began.
European threats of tougher sanctions against Russia weighed on
stocks in the region and filtered through to U.S. stock futures as
well. In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press", Kerry said a
"buildup of extraordinary circumstantial evidence" is pointing to
Russia as the source of the missile that shot down Malaysia
Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, killing 298 people.
International anger is growing over the inability of experts to
reach the crash site, as bodies languish in railcars without any
clear plan as to destination. Kerry described what was happening as
"grotesque," referring to reports of "drunken separatist soldiers,
unceremoniously piling bodies onto trucks", and removing bodies and
evidence from the site.
European leaders threatened consequences against Russia if the
Kremlin did not allow investigators free and unhindered access to
the crash site.The EU could start freezing assets of companies and
business leaders close to Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon
as Tuesday, under sanctions announced last week, The Wall Street
Journal reported.
European stocks stayed under pressure, and Russia's blue-chip
MICEX index was down 2.4%, moving below 1,400. Should that hold, it
would close below that level for the first time since mid-May,
according to FactSet. Asian markets closed mixed.
Wall Street stocks finished last week generally higher. The
S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow industrials (DJI) finished the week
up 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. The Russell 2000 (RUT) lost 0.7%
for the week, and analysts said investors will be watching for more
pain there. Gold (GCQ4) moved higher, while oil (CLQ4) was also
marginally up. Small caps' slump, Ukraine fears may hold up
market
Earnings reports
This is also a major week for earnings. Among the heavy hitters,
Apple Inc. (AAPL) will report Tuesday, and Boeing Co. (BA) and
Facebook Inc. (FB) will report Wednesday.
Hasbro Inc.(HAS) fell 4.8% premarket after the toymaker posted
an 8% rise in revenue, but missed revenue estimates. Halliburton
Co.(HAL) rose 1.5% after the oil services company's revenue beat
forecasts and as earnings met expectations.
Also getting a lift in premarket, shares of EMC Corp.(EMC)
jumped 4.5% on reports Elliot Management Corp. has taken a stake of
more than $1 billion in the data-storage giant and plans to push it
toward a breakup.
Results from Netflix Inc. (NFLX)(NFLX),Texas Instruments Inc.
(TXN) and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. will come after the close of
regular trading. Netflix, Chipotle, TI are Monday's stocks to
watch
Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades, said Monday could mark a
period of consolidation for markets after last week's gains. "More
international action in an attempt to shift the geopolitical agenda
is inevitable, but the real uncertainty hangs over the timing," he
said in emailed comments.
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