Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Monday, as sustained concerns over the U.S. government shutdown and a potential default dampened investor confidence.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.86% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.91% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.85% slump.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday the House will not support bills to fully reopen the government or increase the U.S. debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to talks about spending cuts.
The comments fuelled fears that the political deadlock in Washington will not be resolved by October 17, the date which the Treasury Department has estimated the U.S. could risk an unprecedented default.
In addition, delays in U.S. economic data releases looked likely to fuel uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will hold off on any move to roll back its USD85 billion a month asset purchase program.
The shutdown meant that Friday’s scheduled release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for September was postponed and no new date was given for the release of the data.
Tech stocks were likely to be in focus, after Samsung Electronics said it wants President Barack Obama to give it the same right he gave rival company Apple, which is the right to keep importing smartphones and tablets found to infringe the other's patents.
Apple shares were up 0.71% in pre-market trade.
Elsewhere, private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC was reportedly considering seeking approval to raise the limit on its next flagship fund after investors expressed interest in putting in as much as USD20 billion.
Twitter was also expected to be in focus, amid reports the company's valuation could tread much higher than USD12.8 billion, even though its user growth is slowing and it shows no sign of turning a profit.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.89%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.01%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.61%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.71%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.22%.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.86% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.91% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.85% slump.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday the House will not support bills to fully reopen the government or increase the U.S. debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to talks about spending cuts.
The comments fuelled fears that the political deadlock in Washington will not be resolved by October 17, the date which the Treasury Department has estimated the U.S. could risk an unprecedented default.
In addition, delays in U.S. economic data releases looked likely to fuel uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will hold off on any move to roll back its USD85 billion a month asset purchase program.
The shutdown meant that Friday’s scheduled release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for September was postponed and no new date was given for the release of the data.
Tech stocks were likely to be in focus, after Samsung Electronics said it wants President Barack Obama to give it the same right he gave rival company Apple, which is the right to keep importing smartphones and tablets found to infringe the other's patents.
Apple shares were up 0.71% in pre-market trade.
Elsewhere, private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC was reportedly considering seeking approval to raise the limit on its next flagship fund after investors expressed interest in putting in as much as USD20 billion.
Twitter was also expected to be in focus, amid reports the company's valuation could tread much higher than USD12.8 billion, even though its user growth is slowing and it shows no sign of turning a profit.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.89%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.01%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.61%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.71%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.22%.