US pre-open: Futures point to third-straight day of losses
Wall Street futures had stocks opening lower ahead of the bell on Thursday, putting major indices on track for a third consecutive day of losses.
As of 1240 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.86%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.93% and 1.33% weaker, respectively.
The Dow closed 165.81 points lower on Wednesday amid a flurry of corporate earnings.
Those same earnings were also in focus before the open on Thursday, with Walgreens Boots Alliance and Morgan Stanley both set to report throughout the course of the day.
Jeweller Tiffany & Co posted come strong preliminary sales figures earlier in the morning but said it still expects to record a mid-single-digit percentage decline in sales despite now eyeing an increase in operating earnings.
Market participants were also patiently waiting for any indication that a Covid-19 aid deal was still possible after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that reaching a stimulus agreement before the election would be difficult.
Also in focus was news that several European nations, including the UK, were nearing another round of nationwide lockdowns as part of an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 ahead of winter.
CMC Markets' David Madden said: "Renewed health concerns and tighter restrictions around Europe are hammering stocks this morning. In recent weeks, the chatter surrounding a possible stimulus package in the US grabbed traders’ attention, but all the while the health situation was deteriorating.
"We now find ourselves in a scenario whereby the pandemic is back in centre stage, while the prospects of a US relief package this side of the Presidential election seem very low. Dealers are dumping stocks for fear that economic activity will drop off because of the tighter restrictions in various parts of Europe."
On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index for October will both be released at 1330 BST.