Futures Retreat After Hard Fall Tuesday



U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday after the major averages kick-started September lower, with the S&P 500 clocking its worst day since early August.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials reversed 80 points, or 0.2% to 40,938.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 25.25 points, or 0.5%, at 5,516.50.

Futures for the NASDAQ slumped 151 points, or 0.8%, to 18,855.50.

Wall Street is coming off a losing session, with the major benchmarks posting their worst day going back to the Aug. 5th sell-off, as chip names came under pressure and the latest economic data implied slowing growth for the U.S. economy. The 30-stock Dow fell more than 600 points, or 1.5%, while the S&P 500 slid 2.1%. The NASDAQ Composite dropped 3.3%.

Nvidia shares fell nearly 1% in the premarket after a Bloomberg report, citing sources familiar, said the U.S. Justice Department sent subpoenas to the chipmaker. The move comes after Nvidia tumbled more than 9% in Tuesday’s session amid a broader pullback in semiconductor stocks.

Corporate earnings season is largely behind investors, but reports from retailers Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dollar Tree are set to release before the open on Wednesday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is set to post earnings after the close.

Traders will also look to the latest releases on the U.S. trade deficit, job openings and labor turnover (JOLTS) survey, and factory orders data.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 caved 4.2% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 1.1%.

Oil prices climbed 56 cents to $72.09 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices were down $3.60 to $2,519.40