Stocks - U.S. Futures Fall on Trade Concerns

Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday as fears over slowing global growth and the risk of an escalation in the U.S.-China trade war kept investors on edge.

The S&P 500 futures fell 8 points or 0.33% to 2,627.38 as of 6:46 AM ET (11:46 GMT) while Dow futures lost 80 points, or 0.33%, to 24,352. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 16 points, or 0.24%, to 6,607.38.

Wall Street posted its worst weekly performance since March last week, as slowing economic growth weighed on investor sentiment. Economists predict that 2019 could lead to lower growth and higher interest rates as the trade war between the U.S. and China persists.

Chinese officials summoned the U.S. ambassador to Beijing on Sunday to protest the arrest of chief financial officer of Chinese electronics giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou in Canada. U.S. officials are investigating her role in the companies operations in Iran.

The arrest of Wanzhou has added to tensions between the two biggest economic countries in the world. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Dec. 1 to a 90-day truce on trade tariffs.

Semiconductor company Micron (NASDAQ:MU) was among the hardest hit in premarket trading, falling 1.59%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) decreased 0.22% and General Electric (NYSE:GE) dipped 0.71%. KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was down 1.73% and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) lost 2.29% after news that CIBC World Markets Inc. decreased its shares in the company by 53.2% in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 0.67% while Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) gained 0.42%.

In economic news, JOLTS jobs openings data is released at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT).

In commodities, gold futures was flat at $1,252.60 a troy ounce while crude oil futures fell 1.62% to $51.76 a barrel.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.14% to 96.60.

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