LONDON: U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday, as European and Asian stocks traded mostly lower on concerns that Beijing might change tack in its efforts to boost the stock market.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average fell by more than 200 points at one stage, after a report in The Financial Times over the weekend that Beijing would abandon its large-scale share purchases. This sparked declines in China’s A-listed shares, although the Shanghai Composite pared losses to close 0.8 percent down.
Risk sentiment was also hit by comments from Federal Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer regarding the likelihood of a U.S. interest rate hike in September. Fischer told CNBC on Friday from the Jackson Hole symposium that it was too early to determine whether last week’s market turmoil would impact the likelihood of a rate hike next month.
