BLBG: U.S. Stock Futures Plunge as Oil Turmoil Wipes Out Earlier Gains
U.S. stock-index futures tumbled, erasing earlier gains within the span of an hour, as oil prices continued their plunge, sending equities worldwide lower.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March retreated 0.6 percent to 1,971.9 at 7:39 a.m. in New York, after earlier gaining as much as 0.5 percent. Contracts lost 33 points, as much as 1.7 percent, from a high at 5:47 a.m. to a low of 1,960.4 at 7:25 a.m. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts slid 75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,050 today.
The S&P 500 posted its fifth drop in six sessions yesterday, falling to its lowest level in almost seven weeks amid a rout in crude that rippled across markets.
“Extreme volatility hits today,” said Daniel Weston, chief investment officer at Aimed Capital GmbH in Munich. “Contagion from the turmoil in oil markets will affect all liquid markets, especially the ones that have made investors money year-to-date.”
The S&P 500 had gained 12 percent through the end of November.
Data at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show housing starts increased to a 1.04 million annualized rate last month from a 1.01 million pace in October, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A separate report at 9:45 may show Markit Economics’ manufacturing purchasing manager’s gauge increased to 55.2 this month from 54.8 in November.
Investors are also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s update on the timing and pace of interest-rate increases. Policy makers may decide on Dec. 17 whether to keep their pledge to hold rates low for a considerable time.
Energy Decline
Energy companies including Schlumberger Ltd. and Exxon Mobil Corp. sank in early New York trading as West Texas Intermediate dropped below $55 for the first time in five years.
Stocks tumbled worldwide today after a Chinese factory gauge declined to a seven-month low in December and an index of French manufacturing shrank more this month than estimated.
Boeing Co. added 1.2 percent. The planemaker boosted its quarterly dividend by 25 percent and expanded a share-repurchase plan to $12 billion, the largest in its history.
Whirlpool Corp. may move. The home-appliance maker forecast earnings in 2015 will climb as high as $15 a share, exceeding analyst’s estimates of $14.50.
To contact the reporter on this story: Inyoung Hwang in London at ihwang7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecile Vannucci at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net Alan Soughley
