By Polya Lesova
U.S. stock futures slumped Friday after a powerful earthquake rocked Japan, killing at least 23 and injuring dozens, forcing tens of thousands out of their homes and setting off tsunami alerts across the Pacific, including Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 43 points to 11940 and futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 3.20 points to 1286.30.
Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 8.25 points to 2272.50.
European equities were sharply lower in afternoon trading following steep losses for Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 1.7% lower at 10,254.43, with losses deepening in the final minutes of trading.
The drops came as an 8.9-magnitude earthquake shook Japan Friday, setting off a 10-meter-high tsunami along coastal areas.
"News of a Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami warning [...] has knocked risk sentiment as we end the week," said Kathleen Brooks from Forex.com in a note. "This has added to investor jitters about Europe's periphery as EU leaders meet today to discuss a long-term solution to the sovereign-debt crisis along with the Libyan situation."
In the currency markets, the dollar fell 1% to 82.13 Japanese yen.
April Crude oil futures slumped $2.77 to $99.93 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
On the economic front, U.S. data on retail sales will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. After the stock market opens, data on consumer sentiment for March and inventories for January are due.
In premarket trading, shares of Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) slumped 7.4% after the apparel retailer reported late Thursday a decline in quarterly profit.
Another clothing retailer, Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (ANN), is expected to report earnings Friday.
On Thursday, the Dow tumbled 228.48 points, or 1.87%.
-By Polya Lesova; 49 69 29725517; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar