Dow futures fall more than 100 points: traders brace for Powell's comments

Global Stock Markets

U.S. stock futures on Thursday pointed to a drop at the open, as traders waited for a fresh appearance before Congress by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMH8, -0.47% fell by 132 points, or 0.5%, to 24,906, while S&P 500 futures ESH8, -0.39% shed 11.90 points, or 0.4%, to 2,702.50. Nasdaq-100 futures NQH8, -0.35% gave up 28.25 points, or 0.4%, to 6,836.75.

On Wednesday, the Dow DJIA, -1.50% closed lower by 381 points, or 1.5%, while the S&P 500 SPX, -1.11% shed 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.78% slumped 0.8%. The Dow gave up 4.3% in February, notching its biggest monthly drop in more than two years and paring its advance over the past 12 months to 20%.

Powell, whose comments Tuesday before a House panel helped send U.S. stocks lower, is due to testify to the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The new Fed boss on Tuesday highlighted ways that he personally thinks the U.S. economic outlook has strengthened. His comments helped spark a rally for the dollar and Treasury yields, as well as the selloff for equities.

A January report on core inflation, personal income and consumer spending is slated to hit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, forecasting 0.3% growth for each metric. At that same time, a reading on weekly jobless claims is slated to hit, with economists expecting 226,000 claims.


Shares in L Brands Inc. LB, -8.27% fell 9% in premarket action after the Victoria’s Secret parent late Wednesday gave a quarterly outlook that appeared to disappoint Wall Street.

Salesforce.com Inc.’s stock CRM, +3.19% rose 3% premarket after the software company’s quarterly results beat expectations.

Shares in Best Buy Co. BBY, +5.60% , Kohl’s Corp. KSS, +1.68% and Barnes & Noble Inc. BKS, +1.12% are likely to see active trading as they’re among the companies expected to post earnings before the open.

European equity gauges SXXP, -1.03% traded sharply lower, while Asian markets finished mixed. Gold futures US:GCG8 and oil futures US:CLH8 lost ground, as the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.08% edged up.