Strait of Hormuz Squeezes Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia, Europe Off
Wall Street futures pointed lower pre-bell Monday as the status of the Strait of Hormuz remained uncertain, and as crude prices gained. Tehran said the key waterway is closed, but US officials have said they are keeping shipping lanes open. In the futures, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq declined 0.9% and the Dow Jones was steady. West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded up 3.2% at $73.72 in morning action. Meanwhile, traders gird for a heavy week of earnings releases, including premarket reports on Tuesday from financial behemoths JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Citigroup (C). In addition, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first semi-annual monetary policy reports to Congress are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, possibly signal events for gauging the mood of the central banker. Investors are also looking ahead to the June consumer price index (CPI) release from Washington on Tuesday, and the June national retail sales bulletin on Thursday. Asian exchanges traded mostly lower overnight, led by a 9% decline on Seoul's KOSPI Index, when semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix took hits. European bourses.
Wall Street futures pointed lower pre-bell Monday as the status of the Strait of Hormuz remained uncertain, and as crude prices gained.
Tehran said the key waterway is closed, but US officials have said they are keeping shipping lanes open.
In the futures, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq declined 0.9% and the Dow Jones was steady.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded up 3.2% at $73.72 in morning action.
Meanwhile, traders gird for a heavy week of earnings releases, including premarket reports on Tuesday from financial behemoths JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Citigroup (C).
In addition, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first semi-annual monetary policy reports to Congress are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, possibly signal events for gauging the mood of the central banker.
Investors are also looking ahead to the June consumer price index (CPI) release from Washington on Tuesday, and the June national retail sales bulletin on Thursday.
Asian exchanges traded mostly lower overnight, led by a 9% decline on Seoul's KOSPI Index, when semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix took hits.
European bourses.