US pre-open: Futures in the red as FDA calls for J&J vaccine to be temporarily halted

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Tuesday after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control recommended the use of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine be temporarily after six people out of the 7.0m who received the jab developed blood clots.

As of 1240 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.37%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.37% and 0.14%, respectively.

The Dow closed 55.20 points lower on Monday as investors awaited the beginning of the first-quarter earnings season and the release of some key inflation data.

America's economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic was in focus early on Tuesday after the FDA's recommendation that J&J's vaccine be paused in order to observe "an abundance of caution" after six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot following the vaccine's administration.

The FDA said it would investigate the cases and until that process is complete, felt it was important to ensure that the health care provider community was aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with the particular type of blood clot.

SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "For the Dow Jones, it is keeping its cards close to its chest. Closing 50 points lower last night, the index is currently pencilling in a 0.1% increase after the bell. There’s a reason those prospective gains are in pencil, however – the inflation reading at 1330 BST could well change everything."

On the macro front, small business optimism hit a four-month high in March, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, coming in at 98.2 for the month, just shy of the 98.5 expected on the Street. The NFIB did also note that the uncertainty index did increase to 81 - a three-month high and up from 75 in February.

The NFIB said: "Main Street is doing better as state and local restrictions are eased, but finding qualified labour is a critical issue for small businesses nationwide. However, owners remain determined to hire workers and grow their business."

Still to come, March's all-important core inflation rate data will be out at 1330 BST.

Federal Reserve heads Mary Daly, Esther George, Patrick Harker and Raphael Bostic will all deliver speeches throughout the course of the day.