LDN - Business

Futures muted after Wall Street's worst day in about two weeks

[September 23, 2019] By Medha Singh

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures treaded water on Monday, as investors remained cautious about progress in U.S.-China trade talks and waited for a slew of economic reports to gauge the health of the domestic economy.

The indexes recorded their worst session in about two weeks on Friday - ending a three-week run of gains - after a Chinese agriculture delegation canceled a visit to Montana, dampening optimism about the trade talks.

Stock markets had been buoyed earlier in the week by the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates for the second time in 2019, joining other central banks around the world in easing monetary policy.

After the U.S. central bank's fairly upbeat assessment of the domestic economy, investors will monitor a host of economic data in the final week of the quarter, including core personal consumption data - the Fed's preferred inflation measure - and growth figures for the second quarter.

Data from IHS Markit on Monday is expected to show U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) holding steady at 50.3 in September, while services PMI is forecast to rise to 51.5 from 50.7.

The report, due at 9:45 a.m. ET, follows disappointing business surveys from across the euro zone.

Also on the radar is a speech by Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams at the 2019 U.S. Treasury Market Conference at 9:50 a.m. ET (1350 GMT).

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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

At 7:15 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were down 12 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 1.75 points, or 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 15.25 points, or 0.19%.

Apple <AAPL.O> edged 0.3% higher in premarket trading after U.S. trade regulators approved 10 out of 15 requests for tariff exemptions filed by the iPhone maker amid a broader reprieve on levies on computer parts.

Apple supplier Micron <MU.O>, which manufactures computer memory drives, rose nearly 0.5%.

Boeing <.BA.N> dropped 0.7% after a Reuters report that European antitrust regulators were set to investigate the plane maker's $4.75 billion bid for the commercial aircraft arm of Brazil-based Embraer SA <EMBR3.SA>.

Additionally, the chief of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is set to detail progress on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to international air regulators, who are divided about returning the grounded jet to flight after two fatal crashes.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru)

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