U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday after Caterpillar’s earnings disappointed investors.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pulled back 160 points, indicating a decline of 167.20 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also indicated a decline at the open.
Caterpillar shares fell more than 3 percent after the industrial giant posted weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The company said its sales in the Asia/Pacific region declined because of lower demand in China. Caterpillar is considered a bellwether for global trade given the company’s exposure to overseas markets.
The earnings miss comes as investors brace for the busiest week of the corporate reporting season. More than 100 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report, including Apple, Amazon and Facebook. So far, the earnings season is off to a solid start. About 70 percent of the companies that have already reported have beaten analyst expectations, according to data from FactSet.
On the data front, the monthly U.S. jobs report is scheduled for release later this week. Elsewhere, money managers are also waiting for another round of trade talks between China and the U.S., which are set to start later this week.
The moves Monday also come after Congress and the Trump administration agreed to reopen the government for three weeks. The government had been shutdown for 35 days — the longest stoppage in U.S. history — as both sides could not agree on funding for a border wall. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that another government shutdown is “certainly an option.”
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Source: cnbc.com | Original Link