Futures fall on Trump impeachment push, Nike gains

[September 25, 2019]    By Sruthi Shankar and Ambar Warrick

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Wednesday as a move to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump injected a fresh dose of uncertainty, with forecast-beating results from Nike Inc helping dispel some gloom.

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

The inquiry, which pushed the S&P 500 <.SPX> to post its biggest percentage drop in a month on Tuesday, worsened an already fragile sentiment after Trump hardened his stance over the trade dispute with China, saying he would not accept a "bad deal".

Futures pointed to opening losses for the main three indexes, with trade-sensitive shares of chipmakers and industrial companies trending lower.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc <AMD.O>, Intel Corp <INTC.O> and Nvidia Corp <NVDA.O> shed between 0.5% to 0.9% in premarket trading, while Boeing Co <BA.N> dropped 0.4%.

At 7:14 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were down 51 points, or 0.19%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were down 7.25 points, or 0.24% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were down 30.25 points, or 0.39%.

Nike's shares <NKE.N> jumped 5.7% premarket, on course for a record open and likely boosting the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI>, after first-quarter results beat market expectations.

Shares in retailer Foot Locker Inc <FL.N> gained 1%.

Chipmaker Broadcom Inc <AVGO.O> dropped 3% after it priced an upsized offering of convertible preferred stock.

Investors will look to August new home sales data, due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT), to gauge domestic spending strength ahead of the key holiday shopping season.

A weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading on Tuesday had raised concerns over slowing individual spending, driving down several retail stocks, including Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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