Futures fall on weaker oil prices; inflation data eyed

[November 15, 2017]  By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pointed to a more than 100-point fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Index at opening on Wednesday as a slide in oil prices hit global markets and concerns about the fate of U.S. tax cuts continued to weigh on the mood.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Oil prices slipped for the fourth day running after the International Energy Agency issued a gloomy outlook for demand. Oil majors Exxon and Chevron were down about 0.7 percent in premarket trading.

* Among other early decliners, Target <TGT.N> slipped 3.5 percent after the retailer's holiday-quarter profit forecast looked weaker than Wall Street estimates.

* IBM <IBM.N> fell more than 1 percent after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway cut its stake in the company by 32 percent.

* Snap <SNAP.N> was down 2 percent after shareholders including T. Rowe Price and Soros Fund slashed stakes in the Snapchat maker.

* With the quarterly earnings season winding down, the market has taken a breather after a rally to record highs last week. Traders also await October inflation and retail sales reports due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

* Core inflation is forecast to rise 0.2 percent compared with a 0.1 percent increase in September, while monthly retail sales for October are seen unchanged.

* Shanghai nickel and zinc tumbled alongside steel, with the commodities still reeling after indicators on Tuesday pointing to slowing industrial output growth in China. MET/L

Futures snapshot at 6:45 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down 119 points, or 0.51 percent, with 35,242 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were down 12.75 points, or 0.49 percent, with 228,022 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were down 30.5 points, or 0.48 percent, on volume of 38,113 contracts.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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