US Futures Remain Bleak
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may extend the biggest slump since April 2009, if today’s US stock-index futures are any indication. While S&P 500 futures expiring in March lost 0.7% to 1,054.50 at 10:03 a.m. in London, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures sank 0.6% to 9,923. Meanwhile, Nasdaq-100 Index futures has retreated 0.3% to 1,730.25.
The S&P 500 has retreated 4.7% so far this year on concerns surrounding sovereign debt, curbing of lending by China and President Obama’s proposal to limit banks on risk taking. Today, investors are awaiting employment data, which they expect will show a modest addition of jobs in January. The report may also show unemployment at a 26-year high of 10% for a third straight month.
European shares continued to fall today, posting losses for the third straight session on investor concern over the financial health of Greece, Portugal and Spain.
The same worries plagued the Asian markets, which drove Japan's Nikkei 225 Average to a 2.9% loss, its biggest in over two months.
