US stock futures edge down as technology tensions grow

Bloomberg

US equity futures dipped and European stocks fluctuated after a mixed session in Asia as investors digested the latest in the Sino-American confrontation over technology. Oil declined while the dollar and Treasuries were steady before the latest Fed minutes.
Contracts on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average edged lower with Chinese equities after the White House was reported to be considering blacklisting the Asian nation’s video-surveillance firms. Target shares climbed in premarket trading after its sales beat estimates, while Qualcomm tumbled after a report said it received an unfavourable antitrust ruling. The Stoxx Europe 600 swung between losses and gains as technology shares advanced. European sovereign bonds were mixed.
Debt and equity markets are struggling for direction as investors try to size up how much damage the trade war will bring to global economic growth and supply chains, while the Trump administration considers adding video equipment to its growing blacklist of sales to China. With traders in wait-and-see mode, the Cboe volatility index has been retreating and it touched its lowest level in almost three weeks.
Next up are the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting. The central bank may have “slightly overdone it” by raising interest rates in December, though it’s premature to talk about a rate cut, St Louis Fed President James Bullard said in a Bloomberg interview.
“There is a broad expectation for a growth slowdown and the trade tensions are really adding to these kinds of worries,” Jingyi Pan, Singapore-based market strategist at IG Ltd, told Bloomberg TV.
“A lot of this may not have followed through to the economic data.”
Elsewhere, the pound remained volatile as Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to quit within days, after she promised parliament the chance to call a second referendum on Brexit.
UK stocks advanced along with gilts. Iron ore futures climbed in Singapore for a sixth consecutive day.
The Fed minutes of its last open market committee policy meeting were expected to be released on Wednesday. Counting of votes from the Indian general elections takes place on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempts to secure a second term. The European Parliament holds continent-wide elections from May 23-26. On Thursday, the ECB publishes its account of the April monetary policy decision.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1 percent in New York. Futures on the S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.5 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.2 percent.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1 percent. The euro rose less than 0.05 percent to $1.1166. The British pound dipped 0.4 percent to $1.2652. The onshore yuan gained less than 0.05 percent to 6.902 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 2.42 percent. The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 2.24 percent, the first retreat in a
week. Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to -0.07 percent. Japan’s 10-year yield sank one basis point to -0.056 percent.