Stock Futures Plummet on Bleak Jobs Print
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U.S. stock-index futures tumbled further into the red on Friday after reports from the U.S., the eurozone and China all painted a bleak picture of the world's economy.
Today's Markets
As of 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 191 points to 12192, S&P 500 futures fell 26.1 points to 1283 and Nasdaq 100 futures sold off by 47 points to 2477.
Market participants were focusing heavily on global economies as June kicked off on the heels of a sour month on Wall Street.
The U.S. economy added 69,000 jobs in May, the least in a year, and far less than the 150,000 economists expected. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 8.2% from 8.1% the month before. Digging into the report, the private sector tacked on 82,000 jobs, far short of the 160,000 expected, while the government shed 13,000 jobs.
Later in the morning, traders will also get data on the U.S. manufacturing sector. A national manufacturing survey from the Institute from Supply Management is forecast to show the sector having expanded at a slowing pace in May. Construction spending is expected to have ticked up by 0.4% in April from March.
Adding to the gloomy sentiment, the manufacturing sector in the eurozone contracted at the swiftest pace in nearly three years, according to a closely-watched survey by Markit in London.
Of particular concern to many market participants was that Germany, Europe's biggest economy, which has been generally resilient to headwinds from the debt crisis, saw its biggest deterioration in manufacturing since June 2009. That is an indication, analysts say, that the debt debacle is bleeding into core economies. A separate report from Eurostat showed the unemployment rate across the eurozone was steady at 11%, a record high, in April.
"Eurozone manufacturers reported a deepening downturn in May, indicating that the damage to the real economy caused by the region’s financial and political crises continues to spread across the region," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said in a statement accompanying the report.
China's official gauge of its manufacturing sector deteriorated sharply in May from April. A slowdown for the world's second-biggest economy also failed to inspire confidence among market participants.
The Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 1.4%, Germany's DAX plunged 2.6% and the euro fell 0.34% to $1.2324.
Commodities markets were sharply lower. The benchmark crude oil contract traded in New York slid $2.35, or 2.7%, to $84.19 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dropped 2.1% to $2.67 a gallon.
In metals, gold fell $13, or 0.83%, to $1,551 a troy ounce.
Foreign Markets
The Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 1.4%, the English FTSE 100 slid 0.82% to 5277 and the Germany DAX plunged 2.6% to 6103.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 sold off by 1.2% to 8440 and the Chinese Hang Seng dipped 0.38% to 18558.