MW: China growth fears slam U.S. stock futures; Dow futures slump 300 points
Stock futures slumped Tuesday after another set of weak Chinese economic data roiled global financial markets.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU5, -2.07% skidded 326 points, or 2%, to 16,182, while those for the S&P 500 index ESU5, -2.10% dropped 37.20 points, or 1.9%, to 1,932. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NQU5, -2.21% lost 85.25 points, or 2%, to 4,186.50.
The losses build on another downbeat day on Monday, when Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.69% ended August with the steepest monthly loss in more than five years. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.84% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.07% recorded the largest monthly declines since May 2012, weighed down by continued worries over slowing growth in China and uncertainty over the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate hike.
On Tuesday, fears over China again took a toll on stock markets after the country’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a three-year low. The factory reading pushed stocks lower across Asia as well as in Europe.
“The summer weakness [in China] could be linked to the recent Tianjin port explosion and large-scale factory closures in Beijing ahead of the WWII victory day parade on 3 September,” analysts at Barclays said in a note.
“Even so, we believe the multiyear-low PMI confirms that the economy is still not on a solid footing, and we look for a flat growth profile during the rest of 2015, with continued downside risks,” they added.
U.S. data: Investors were waiting for PMI data out of the U.S. The final Markit manufacturing reading for August is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
At 10 a.m. Eastern, the ISM manufacturing index is due, forecast to have slipped to 52% in August from 52.7% in July, according to economists polled by MarketWatch.
Construction-spending data for July are slated to arrive at 10 a.m. Eastern as well, while August car sales numbers will be released throughout the day.
Read: MarketWatch’s economic calendar.
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren will give a speech on the economic outlook to the Forecasters Club of New York 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Rosengren isn’t a voting member of the Fed’s policy-setting committee this year.
Movers and shakers: Ahead of the opening bell, discount chain Dollar Tree Inc. DLTR, -5.74% reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates. Shares were down 4.3% premarket.
And after the market closes, H&R Block Inc. HRB, -1.31% is forecast to post a first-quarter loss of 40 cents a share.
Oil-related companies were among biggest premarket decliners as crude oil CLV5, -3.41% shaved off almost 2%. Shares of Chevron Corp. CVX, +0.70% dropped 1.9%, Transocean Ltd. RIG, +4.71% lost 2.4%, and Marathon Oil Corp. MRO, +3.84% fell 3.4%.
Other markets: Most metals prices dropped, but gold GCZ5, +0.65% put on $9.50 an ounce as investors flocked to safe havens.
The greenback traded mixed against other major currencies, with the ICE dollar index DXY, -0.27% off 0.2% at 95.592.