US pre-open: Stocks seen lower again; Target set for losses after results
US stocks looked set for more losses on Tuesday, with the tech sector in focus again following a dismal session the day before.
At 1215 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively, while Nasdaq futures were 1% lower. Equities had fallen sharply on Monday, with the Dow closing down nearly 400 points and the Nasdaq ending 219 points lower as tech giants Apple, Amazon and Facebook slumped.
Apple was rocked by reports that it has slashed production orders in recent weeks for all three iPhone models that were unveiled in September.
"Investors had been nervous about the outlook for Apple and its flagship devices since the firm announced that it would no longer be reporting a breakdown of sales figures by product in its most recent earnings update. News of slashed production orders has just confirmed those fears, forcing investors to reassess Apple’s outlook," said London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler.
Meanwhile, Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "With FAANG stocks now all in bear market territory and not yet coming to the rescue of the rest of the market, investors have been left wondering if this is going to get messy or whether Black Friday has come a little early in stock markets. There still appears to be a lot of underlying anxiety in the markets which may prolong the current sell-off a little longer, with trade wars, US interest rates, Brexit and the Italian budget standoff all being significant headwinds."
In corporate news, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy was likely to be active following better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Lowe's looked set to drop at the open after the retailer's quarterly earnings and revenue beat forecasts but it cut its full-year estimates.
Hormel Foods was likely to be in focus after its fourth-quarter earnings beat expectations but sales missed, while department store retailer Target was sharply lower in pre-market trade after a mixed third-quarter update.
On the data front, building permits and housing starts for October are due at 1330 GMT.