U.S. Market Futures Pointing Lower with Oil Down, Fed in Focus

U.S. stock futures are pointing lower in pre-market trading for Tuesday, September 13. The Dow Futures are at 18131.0 for a loss of -115.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2138.0 for a loss of -14.00 points. The Nasdaq Futures are lower at 4733.0 for a loss of -30.75 points. The Russell Futures are lower at 1221.5 points for a loss of -10.70 points.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was higher at 16729.04 for a gain of 56.12 points or 0.34 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was lower at 23215.76 for a loss of -74.84 points or -0.32 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite was higher at 3023.51 for a gain of 1.53 points or 0.05 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex was lower at 28353.54 for a loss of -443.71 or -1.54 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was lower at 6698.59 for a loss of -2.31 points or -0.03 percent. Germany’s DAX was higher at 10458.77 for a gain of 27.00 points or 0.26 percent. France’s CAC 40was higher at 4441.75 for a gain of 1.95 points or 0.04 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was higher at 342.42 for a gain of 0.19 points or 0.06 percent.

Tuesday’s Factors and Events

On the economic calendar for Tuesday is the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index and the Treasury Budget. The Treasury will also be holding auctions for the 4-week bill, 52-week bill and 30-year bond.

Stocks trading actively in the pre-market include the following:

Kroger

Equinix

Dow Chemical

BorgWarner

Hess Corp

Teradata Corp

United Rentals

HP Inc

Futures pointed lower Tuesday as the Fed enters a blackout period prior to its September 20 meeting and oil prices were lower. The Fed will not comment on the economy or monetary policy in the next week leading up to its September meeting. The probability for a rate increase in September has increased. Stocks are also lower as oil is trading lower following a report from the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s month report showed oil demand decreasing.

Monday’s Activity

 Stocks were higher Monday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18325.07 for a gain of 239.62 points or 1.32 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2159.04 for a gain of 31.23 points or 1.47 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5211.89 for a gain of 85.98 points or 1.68 percent.

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Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Other notable index closes included the small cap Russell 2000 Index higher at 1235.87 for a gain of 16.66 points or 1.37 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index higher at 748.18 for a gain of 8.21 points or 1.11 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index higher at 1545.97 for a gain of 17.66 points or 1.16 percent; the S&P 100 Index higher at 956.20 for a gain of 13.58 points or 1.44 percent; the Russell 3000 Index higher at 1278.00 for a gain of 18.06 points or 1.43 percent; the Russell 1000 Index higher at 1196.81 for a gain of 16.97 points or 1.44 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index higher at 612.36 for a gain of 8.20 points or 1.36 percent.