Futures Pointing To Sharply Lower Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to see substantial weakness in early trading on Monday, extending the sell-off seen over the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures plunging by 4.5 percent.

An overseas sell-off, which saw Japan's Nikkei 225 Index record its biggest slump since "Black Monday" in October 1987, is likely to carry over on to Wall Street.

Concerns about the U.S. economy slipping into recession following last Friday's disappointing jobs report triggered the significant weakness in the overseas markets.

Shares of AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) are plunging by 13.9 percent in pre-market trading amid an unwinding of the artificial intelligence trade that recently helped the markets to record highs.

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is also tumbling by 9.9 percent in pre-market trading after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed it sold nearly half its stake in the iPhone maker.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on service sector activity in the month of July. The services PMI is expected to rise to 51.0 in July from 48.8 in June, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.

Stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Friday, adding to the steep losses posted during Thursday's session. With the extended sell-off, the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped to its lowest closing level in two months and the S&P 500 hit a nearly two-month closing low.

The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq dove 417.98 points or 2.4 percent to 16,776.16, the S&P 500 plunged 100.12 points or 1.8 percent to 5,346.56 and the Dow tumbled 610.71 points or 1.5 percent to 39,737.26.

Reflecting the sell-off, the major averages also moved sharply lower for the week. The Nasdaq plummeted by 3.4 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow both slumped by 2.1 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index saw a 12.4 percent nosedive, while South Korea's Kospi plunged by 8.8 percent.

The major European markets have also shown significant moves to the downside. While the German DAX Index is down by 3.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 2.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 2.6 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $1.31 to $72.21 a barrel after plummeting $2.79 to $73.52 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after falling $11 to $2,469.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are plummeting $63.90 to $2,405.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 142.10 yen versus the 146.53 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0975 compared to last Friday's $1.0911.