Futures slide 1% over inflation concerns

October 6, 2021

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell about 1% in early New York hours on Wednesday as soaring oil prices fed into fears of higher inflation, while a stalemate continued in the U.S. Congress over the government debt ceiling.

Asian and European stocks fell earlier in the day as oil hit a multi-year high above $83 a barrel amid a rally in global energy prices, fuelling concerns that major central banks will tighten monetary policy to counter sharp price rises. [MKTS/GLOB]

All eyes will be on the U.S. private payrolls data, due at 8:15 a.m. ET. The numbers come ahead of the more comprehensive non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which is expected to cement the case for the Federal Reserve’s slowing of asset purchases.

Megacap technology stocks including Apple Inc, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet fell more than 1% each in premarket trading after staging a strong rebound on Tuesday.

A stalemate over Republicans and Democrats about the debt limit showed no sign of abating, with President Joe Biden saying that his Democrats might make an exception to a U.S. Senate rule to allow them to extend the government’s borrowing authority without Republican help.

At 05:17 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 337 points, or 0.99%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 50.5 points, or 1.17%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 196.75 points, or 1.34%.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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