(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday, with investors weighing the possibility of an economic recession as central banks across the world take aggressive actions to contain a surge in inflation.
As the Federal Reserve moves away from easy money by raising borrowing costs, the raging bull market of the last few years has hit pause, dragging the benchmark S&P 500 index to its steepest first-half percentage drop since 1970.
Traders are now bracing for another 75 basis point hike at the end of the month.
In a brief relief from the roller-coaster ride on Wall Street, the main indexes ended higher on Friday, as investors embarked on the second half of the year with some optimism after the market suffered its worst first half in decades.
Data on Tuesday showed business growth across the euro zone slowed further last month and forward-looking indicators suggested the region could slip into decline this quarter as the cost of living crisis keeps consumers wary.
As trading commences after a long weekend and with the earnings season just weeks away, investors will look to company forecasts and economic data for any signs of peaking inflation and cooling economic growth.
The U.S. Commerce Department is set to report data on factory orders at 10:00 am ET that is expected to show orders likely advanced 0.5% in May, compared with a 0.3% rise in April.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday, and a key part of the treasury yield curve briefly inverted, reflecting investor concerns about a potential U.S. economic recession.
Interest-rate sensitive mega-cap growth stocks Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc fell between 0.6% and 0.8% premarket.
At 6:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 125 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 17 points, or 0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 65 points, or 0.56%.
Shares of Tesla Inc dipped 0.1% as the company’s second-quarter electric vehicle deliveries fell, compared with the previous quarter due to supply-chain challenges.
Shares of Warner Bros Discovery Inc dropped 1.1% after reports of the media and streaming firm’s unit, HBO Max, halting production of original shows in Europe.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
