Stock futures flat amid Brexit uncertainty; Boeing falls again

[March 13, 2019]   By Amy Caren Daniel

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures treaded water on Wednesday, as investors took a cautious stance ahead of a clutch of domestic economic data and another make-or-break parliamentary vote on Brexit, which could send a shock through global markets.

British lawmakers crushed Prime Minister Theresa May's European Union divorce deal on Tuesday, forcing parliament to decide within days whether to back a no-deal Brexit or seek a last-minute delay.

Lawmakers will now vote at 3:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) on whether Britain should quit the world's biggest trading bloc without a deal, a scenario that business leaders warn would bring chaos to markets and supply chains.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Tuesday after tame inflation data underscored the Federal Reserve's dovish stance on rate hikes, but the Dow ended down as Boeing Co's shares sank for a second day after one of its planes crashed in Ethiopia.

Boeing was down more than 2 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday after more countries grounded the company's best-selling line of jets following the crash.

On the trade front, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the United States and China may be in the final weeks of discussions to hammer out a deal to ease their tit-for-tat tariffs dispute.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

At 6:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 2 points, or 0.01 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.14 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 10.75 points, or 0.15 percent.

Rite Aid Corp jumped 19.4 percent after the drug store chain operator said its chief executive officer would exit as part of a revamp of its leadership and that it would slash about 400 jobs.

A report on durable goods orders is expected to show a 0.5 percent drop in January from a 1.2 percent rise the month before, while Labor Department data is expected to show producer prices edged up 0.2 percent in February from prior month's 0.1 percent dip. Both sets of data are due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.