Inflation worries slam futures as oil breaches $130

[March 07, 2022]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slid on Monday, with banks and travel stocks falling the most as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia pushed Brent to over $130 a barrel and added to concerns over spiraling inflation and slowing economic growth.

Countries from Japan to the United States discussed banning Russian oil imports in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine, fueling an 18% jump in Brent to its highest since 2008. That was on the top of a near 21% surge last week. [GLOB/MKTS]

Russia announced new "humanitarian corridors" on Monday to transport Ukrainians trapped under its bombardment - to Russia itself and its ally Belarus, a move immediately dismissed by Kyiv as an "immoral" stunt.

Citigroup Inc fell 3.9% in premarket trading, the most among the big banks, as Jefferies downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy". The S&P 500 banks index is among the worst performers so far this year as investors worried about how the West's sanctions against Moscow may affect the international financial system.

Shares of megacap growth companies including Tesla Inc dropped more than 1% each.

Cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and carrier United Airlines Holdings Inc slipped 5.0% and 3.6%, respectively, to lead losses among travel companies.

Energy stocks jumped, with oil producer Occidental Petroleum climbing 8.6%. Potash fertilizer makers Mosaic Co, CF Industries Holdings Inc and Nutrien Ltd rose between 3.8% and 5.6% following brokerage actions.

Defense stocks L3Harris Technologies Inc, Northrop Grumman Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp gained between 2.6% and 4.9%.

At 05:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 496 points, or 1.48%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 65.5 points, or 1.51%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 224.5 points, or 1.62%.

Wall Street ended lower on Friday as the war in Ukraine overshadowed an acceleration in U.S. jobs growth last month that pointed to strength in the economy.

The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose for the second straight day and was last trading at its highest level since Feb. 24.

(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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