US pre-open: Stocks to fall amid Evergrande uncertainty
Updated : 15:03
US stock futures were pointing to a weaker open on Friday amid ongoing concerns about Chinese property developer Evergrande.
At 1110 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.4%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.5% and 0.6% lower, respectively.
Worries about Evergrande remained amid uncertainty over whether it has met its latest bond interest payment.
Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said: "The Evergrande Group missed its dollar bond coupon payment yesterday and so far there has been no communication from the group on this. They have a 30-day grace period to make the payment before any event of default can be declared.
"This follows instructions from China’s Financial regulators yesterday in which they urged the group to take all measures possible to avoid a near-term default on dollar bonds while focusing on completing unfinished properties and repaying individual investors."
In corporate news, Nike shares were sharply lower in pre-market trade after its first-quarter sales missed expectations. The company also downgraded its sales forecast for the full year.
On the upside, however, Costco shares ticked a little higher after it said sales rose 17% in the latest quarter.
On the macroeconomic front, new home sales figures for August are due at 1500 BST.