US pre-open: Futures in the red following heavy losses in previous session
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Friday 01 Oct 2021
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were pointing to losses ahead of the bell on Friday as investors await the release of key data points later in the day.
As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.36%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.30% and 0.22% weaker, respectively.
The Dow closed a whopping 546.80 points lower on Thursday as a volatile month for stocks drew to an end.
Market participants will be looking ahead to a slew of data points set for release later in the session, with the core personal consumption expenditures price index taking centre stage.
Also in focus was news that Congress was now poised to prevent a government shutdown, with both the Senate and the House passing a short-term appropriations bill that will allow the government to keep operating until 3 December. The bill is currently sitting on Joe Biden's desk awaiting his signature.
AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "American and European futures are down today, following the end of an extremely volatile month for stock markets. Currently, investors are concerned about a possible rebound of coronavirus cases, the debt ceiling dispute, and uncertainty about the Chinese macroeconomic landscape. The issue that stock traders will face in October is determining how to classify various problems that will come their way. Specifically, determining whether the concerns have a structural impact on the economy or whether such factors are likely to affect short-term volatility, which they can leverage.
"Stock traders will be digesting today's core personal consumption expenditures price index to understand the state of inflation. This metric is important because it is what the Federal Reserve uses to tone down its monetary policy. The figure is expected to jump 3.5% on a year over year basis and grow 0.2% in August. The consumer price measure hit its highest mark since May 1991 in July."
On the macro front, the August PCE price index will be released at 1430 BST, while IHS Markit's manufacturing PMI was scheduled for publication at 1545 BST and last month's ISM manufacturing PMI, August construction spending figures and the University of Michigan's September consumer sentiment index will all follow at 1600 BST.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.
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