Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Wall Street Thursday as a spike in Treasury yields and expectations for future Federal Reserve rate hikes weighed on market sentiment.
The S&P 500 futures fell 12 points or 0.43% to 2,918.75 as of 6:45 AM ET (10:45 GMT) while Dow futures lost 99 points, or 0.37%, to 26,773.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 44 points, or 0.58%, to 7,620.0.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to levels not seen since 2011 after upbeat economic data and hawkish comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday bolstered expectations for the Fed to raise interest rates again in December and beyond.
The yield was up 1.54% to 3.210% after jumping almost 4% in the previous session.
Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) was among the top gainers in premarket trading, surging 26.37% after news that it is reviewing a possible sale.
Elsewhere, General Electric (NYSE:GE) fell 0.80% while Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) dipped 0.94% and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) inched down 0.27%.
In earnings news,Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), the maker of Corona beer, will release its financial report before the market opens while Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) reports after the bell.
On the data front, initial jobless claims are released at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT). Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles is also expected to speak at the Senate Banking Committee at 9:15 AM ET (13:15 GMT).
In Europe, stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 37 points or 0.31% while in France the CAC 40 was down 59 points or 1.09% and in London the FTSE 100 decreased 81 points or 1.08%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 lost 4 points or 0.14% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched down 27 points or 0.29%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.02% to $1,202.60 a troy ounce while crude oil futures decreased 0.21% to $76.25 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.14% to 95.54.