Yahoo Finance Stocks - U.S. Futures Fall as Hong Kong Protest Tensions Escalate
Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a volatile day on Wall Street, as worsening political unrest in Hong Kong dampened sentiment.
Asia's biggest financial hub entered its tenth week of anti-government protests at the weekend, with renewed flashes of violence reported.
Hong Kong's airport cancelled all flights halfway through the day as protesters thronged to it in response to a government instruction to airline Cathay Pacific, ordering it to bar any staff who took part in political demonstrations from the rosters of flights to the mainland. Violence also broke out between police and protesters in at least two large subway stations, the BBC reported.
Chinese officials said the violence must stop after clashes between protesters and police erupted throughout the city, stoking fears that it will deploy more force to restore order.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 63 points or 0.8% by 6:40 AM ET (10:40 GMT), while Dow futures dipped 192 points or 0.7% and S&P 500 futures declined 21 points or 0.7%.
The news from Hong Kong will heighten market sensitivity to any further signs of deterioration in the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the two countries were unlikely to continue talks next month.
The People’s Bank of China set the official midpoint reference for the yuan at 7.0211 per dollar, weaker than on Friday but stronger than expected. The yuan exchange rate has been closely watched as a weaker currency makes a country's exports cheaper, something that has drawn criticism from President Trump. Analysts have argued that if anything, the PBoC is supporting the yuan at present, fearful of a faster depreciation that would make it harder for Chinese companies to repay dollar-denominated debt.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 1.1% after reports that one of its electric cars caught fire after hitting a tow truck in Moscow on Saturday, although it was unclear which model it was. The company is under regulatory scrutiny for its claims over the safety of its Model 3.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) dipped 1.3%, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) slipped 0.6% and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was down 1.1%.
Elsewhere, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) rose 0.7%, while Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) inched up 0.2%.
In commodities, crude oil fell 1.6% to $53.66 a barrel. Gold futures gained 0.5% to $1,515.45 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 97.335.
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