U.S. Stock futures started the trading week on a bearish footing, signaling losses at the opening U.S trading session on Monday. U.S stocks were hit by growing concern about new restrictions triggered by rising COVID-19 cases.
What we know; Futures contracts on the S&P 500 Index plunged by 1.51% at the time this report was drafted, pointing to a fourth straight daily decline, the longest stretch of losses for the gauge since the end of February.
Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 fell 1.85% and 1.5%, respectively.
Quick fact; American Stock futures are simply standardized contracts that global traders use in purchasing or selling the U.S stock in a future date. This means that the U.S stock futures give an insight into what global investors see before the market opens, or after it close
Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at AxiCorp, in a note to Nairametrics spoke on the prevailing fundamentals, giving stock bears an edge. Stock futures opened uncertain as investors remain confused about which way to move this morning as lockdown fears take charge with the UK government sounding alarm bells as the Covid-19 curve moves in the wrong direction.
After the initial economic bounce from full-blown lockdowns, both the UK and Europe’s economic trajectory could be entering a gloomy second phase characterized by ongoing social distancing, elevated unemployment, and increasing damage to the supply side.
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He also spoke on the parabolic nature of the world’s largest equity market, as the U.S election sets in, by saying;
“However, they remain weighed down by a drip-feed of negativity around Covid-19 resurgence, US fiscal impasse and as the market starts to factor in US election risk in earnest. Retail and hedge funds bought the initial Nasdaq dip after the September 2 carnage. But since then, there has been a noticeable shift in trading behavior where bounces are quickly faded.”
Political tensions also making global investors shaky as Democrats and Republicans prepare to fight over who will be the next Supreme Court justice.