Wall Street Poised To Open Broadly Down

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly lower on Monday morning.

Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading mostly lower.

The Fed meeting might get special attention this week. The monthly jobs report, factory orders, the U.S. trade deficit, labor productivity as well as the latest batch of earnings news also might be of interest to investors.

Russia is moving in an offensive mode with explosions against Ukraine. Though discussion on ending supplies of oil and gas to Russia is going on, European Union is yet to reach a consensus.

As of 7.40 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 32.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 3.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 17.50 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Monday near their worst levels of the day. The Dow dove 939.18 points or 2.8 percent to 32,977.21, the Nasdaq plummeted 536.89 points or 4.2 percent to 12,334.64 and the S&P 500 tumbled 155.57 points or 3.6 percent to 4,131.93.

On the economic front, HIS Markit’s PMI Manufacturing Final report for April will be issued at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 59.4.

Institute for Supply Management or ISM Manufacturing Index for April will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 58.0, while it was up 57.1 in the prior month.

Construction Spending for March will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.8 percent, while it was up 0.5 percent in February.

Six-month Treasury Bill auction will be held at 11.30 am ET.

Asian stocks finished lower on Monday. China and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.

Japan’s Nikkei index ended slightly lower. The Nikkei average slipped 0.11 percent to 26,818.53 Japan’s consumer confidence index increased in six months in April, while factory activity expanded at a slower pace from the previous month in April.

Australian markets tumbled on the day. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.18 percent to 7,347. Tech stocks such as Tyro and Xero lost 6-7 percent.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 87.08 or 1.33 percent. The German DAX is losing 85.08 points or 0.64 percent, and the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 35.36 points or 0.47 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is sliding 100.43 points or 0.82 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 1.54 percent.

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