Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Monday, joining a global equity market sell-off amid growing anxiety the U.K. will vote to leave the European Union later this month.
Jitters ahead of Britain's June 23 referendum on European Union membership mounted after U.K. polls over the weekend suggested momentum for the campaign to leave the bloc is gaining momentum.
The blue-chip Dow futures shed 65 points, or 0.37%, by 10:49GMT, or 6:49AM ET, the S&P 500 futures dipped 9 points, or 0.39%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures declined 22 points, or 0.47%.
In Europe, equities fell towards two-month lows, with Germany’s DAX leading losses, as appetite for riskier assets faltered as growing anxiety over the prospect of the U.K. exiting the European Union shook markets.
Earlier, Asian stocks fell the most in more than four months as risk-sensitive assets took a hammering while investors await Britain's stay-or-go referendum on European Union membership.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 3.5%, hurt a strengthening yen, while the Shanghai Composite lost 3.2%, as investors absorbed several economic reports out of China.
Industrial production rose at an annualized rate of 6.0% in May, beating expectations for a 5.9% increase and holding steady from a gain of 6.8% in the preceding month, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday. Fixed asset investment, which tracks construction activity, rose 9.6% last month, below forecasts for an increase of 10.5%.
Meanwhile, lower oil prices further dampened sentiment. U.S. crude was down 55 cents, or 1.1%, at a one-week low of $48.52 a barrel during morning hours in New York, while Brent declined 44 cents, or 0.9%, to $50.10.
In the currency markets, the pound and the euro fell to their lowest level since 2013 against the safe-haven Japanese yen, which also climbed to a five-week high against the U.S. dollar.
Worries about a potential exit by the U.K. from the European Union left investors scrambling for safe haven assets, sending bond yields lower yet again.
U.K. 10-year bond yields fell 2.6 basis points, or 2.11%, to trade at 1.209%, after hitting a session low of 1.200%, the lowest level on record, while German 10-year bonds stood at 0.018%, down 0.4 basis points, or 14.29%, not far from Friday’s record low of 0.009%.
Gold futures extended last week’s strong gains on Monday, hitting a fresh four-week high of $1,288.
There are no economic data due on Monday and no significant earnings reports expected in the U.S. Investors are already looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this week
The Fed is not expected to take action on interest rates at the conclusion of its two day policy meeting on Wednesday. The central bank will also release its latest forecasts for economic growth and interest rates.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to hold what will be a closely-watched press conference 30 minutes after the release of the Fed's statement, as investors look for any change in tone about the economy or future rate hikes.
Traders all but ruled out a rate hike in June after U.S. employment data earlier this month showed the economy added just 38,000 jobs last month, the smallest increase since September 2010.
Market players are pricing in just a 2% chance for a rate hike this week and 23% for July, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool. September odds were at about 37%.