US stock futures decline after American presidential debate

Bloomberg

US equity-index futures dropped alongside most stock markets after an acrimonious American presidential debate highlighted the risk of a contested vote in November. A gauge of the dollar edged higher.
S&P 500 futures fall as much as 1.3% in the hours after the chaotic sparring between Donald Trump and Democratic hopeful Joe Biden during which the president suggested vote-by-mail could be rife with fraud. In Europe, declines in industrial-goods and tech shares outweighed gains in utilities.
“What we’ve seen from the debate is the reinforcement that if Biden wins, Trump is not going to accept that,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd. in Melbourne. “People positioned for an ugly contest afterwards have been validated.”
Investment firms were also recalibrating positions on the final day of this quarter. Walt Disney Co. shares falls in pre-market trading after it said 28,000 workers will be let go in its slumping US resort business, marking one of the deepest workforce reductions of the Covid-19 era.
Global investors are keeping an eye on news about coronavirus vaccines and on talks in Washington for a new stimulus package that’s set to reach a critical juncture this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke for 50 minutes and are set to speak again.
Traders are preparing for euro-area inflation data on Friday. Sub-zero headline CPI readings came for France and Germany and put a damper on the euro on Wednesday as they ratcheted up the probability of additional easing by the
European Central Bank.
Earlier in Asia, China Evergrande Group’s bonds and stocks climbed after the developer took a major step towards avoiding a cash crunch. China markets are shut from Thursday for a week of holidays. Equity gauges in Japan and Australia declined by at least 2%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index falls 0.3% as of 10:14 am London time and futures on the S&P 500 Index fall 0.9%.
While Nasdaq 100 Index futures falls 1.1%, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.6%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2% and the British pound sink 0.4% to $1.2816.
While Switzerland’s franc weakened 0.1% to 1.0806 per euro, the offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8182 per
dollar.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased less than one basis point to 0.65% and Germany’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to -0.54%.
While Britain’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.188%, New Zealand’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.519%.
West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1% to $38.90 a barrel and gold weakened 0.8% to $1,882.32 an ounce.
While natural gas dipped 2.1% to $2.51 per mmbtu, iron ore surged 4.2% to $121.67 per metric ton.