MARKET SNAPSHOT: China Growth Fears Slam U.S. Stock Futures Sharply Lower
September 01 2015 - 5:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Wall Street was set to kick off September on a downbeat note, as
stock futures moved sharply lower on Tuesday after disappointing
Chinese data roiled the global financial markets again.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 365 points,
or 2.2%, to 16,143, while those for the S&P 500 index dropped
44.45 points, or 2.3%, to 1,924.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100
index lost 97.50 points, or 2.3%, to 4,173.75.
The losses come on the back of another downbeat day on Monday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), when Dow Jones
Industrial Average ended August with the steepest monthly loss in
more than five years. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite
recorded the largest monthly declines since May 2012, with the
markets weighed down by continued worries over slowing growth in
China and uncertainty over the timing of the Federal Reserve's
first rate hike.
On Tuesday, fears over China once again took a toll on stock
markets after the country's official manufacturing purchasing
managers' index fell to a three-year low
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-factory-activity-slips-to-3-year-low-2015-09-01).
The factory reading pushed stocks lower across all of Asia
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinese-factory-data-pull-asian-shares-lower-2015-09-01)
and sent the European equity benchmarks
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) into red
territory.
"The summer weakness [in China] could be linked to the recent
Tianjin port explosion and large-scale factory closures in Beijing
ahead of the WWII victory day parade on 3 September," analysts at
Barclays said in a note.
"Even so, we believe the multiyear-low PMI confirms that the
economy is still not on a solid footing, and we look for a flat
growth profile during the rest of 2015, with continued downside
risks," they added.
U.S. data: Investors were also waiting for PMI data out of the
U.S., with the final Markit manufacturing reading for August due at
9:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
At 10 a.m. Eastern, the ISM manufacturing index is due, forecast
to have slipped to 52% in August from 52.7% in July
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/early-release-of-ism-index-shows-drop-to-527-in-july-2015-08-03),
according to economists polled by MarketWatch.
Construction-spending data for July are slated to arrive at 10
a.m. Eastern as well, while August car sales numbers will be
released throughout the day.
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren will give a
speech on the economic outlook to the Forecasters Club of New York
1:10 p.m. Eastern. Rosengren isn't a voting member of the Fed's
policy-setting committee this year.
Movers and shakers: Ahead of the opening bell, discount chain
Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR) is expected to report second-quarter
earnings of 68 cents a share, according to FactSet estimates.
And after the market closes, H&R Block Inc.(HRB) is forecast
to post a first-quarter loss of 40 cents a share.
Oil-related companies were among biggest premarket decliners as
crude oil shaved off more than 3%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-pull-back-after-breathless-rally-2015-09-01-3103369).
Shares of Chevron Corp.(CVX) dropped 5.5%, Transocean Ltd.(RIG)
lost 3.2%, and Marathon Oil Corp.(MRO) fell 3.2%.
Other markets: Most metals prices dropped, but gold put on $8.80
an ounce as investors flocked to safe-havens.
The greenback traded mixed against other major currencies, with
the ICE dollar index off 0.3% at 95.561.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 01, 2015 05:35 ET (09:35 GMT)
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