Marc Pado Comments: US Stock Futures Drop, Barclays in Focus Indications
September 7, 2010, Marketwatch
U.S. stock futures signaled a lower open Tuesday, as rekindled worries about European banks rattled investors, with Barclays shares under pressure after the company announced a new chief executive.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49 points to 10,387. S&P 500 futures declined 6.1 points to 1,097.4, and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 6.75 points to 1,860.25.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for Labor Day. On Friday, the Dow rose 1.2%, buoyed by better-than-expected data on the U.S. labor market. Last week, the blue-chip index gained 2.9%, snapping a three-week losing streak.
No major U.S. economic data are scheduled for release Tuesday.
"This week, we have very little key economic news," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald, in a research note. "This will be an opportunity to digest last week's volatility with little distraction."
He described September as a key month.
"Weakness from this point on should be used as an opportunity to add to economically sensitive groups: technology, retail, consumer discretionary and even the financials," Pado said.
Most Asian stock markets ended lower overnight. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged, as expected.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7% in afternoon trading. In Germany, data showed that the nation's manufacturing orders dropped 2.2% in July from the previous month, defying expectations for a slight rise.
Investors digested high-level shakeups at several major companies.
U.S.-listed shares of Barclays dropped 5.5% in premarket trading after the British bank said Robert Diamond, the head of its investment-banking arm, will become its new group chief executive early next year. Diamond will succeed John Varley, who has been at the helm since 2004.
