(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday, following four weeks of market gains, as a spike in the U.S. dollar weighed on commodity prices and dried up bids on other risky assets.
U.S. stocks closed out a fourth week of gains
on Friday, with the S&P 500 on track for its best monthly performance in
more than two decades.
The greenback shot up to a three-month high
against the yen early Monday after hitting a record low as the government of
Japan intervened in the market to curb its currency's appreciation, which is
hurting the export-based economy.
The higher dollar pressured commodity prices,
with copper off 2.4 percent. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
dropped 3 percent to $41.55 in light premarket trading.
"After a solid month of gains, the (higher)
dollar is giving traders a reason to shy from the risk trade and take some
profits," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New
York.
S&P 500 futures fell 11.8 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration of the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 83 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 19.25 points.
S&P 500 futures held just under their 200-day moving average (MA). On the cash market, the index's 200-day MA is at 1,274.25, or 0.84 percent below its close on Friday.
The New York Federal Reserve Bank suspended
MF Global Holdings Ltd from doing business with it. The troubled brokerage
neared a deal to file for bankruptcy protection and sell assets to Interactive Brokers Group
Inc , the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported.
The Institute for Supply Management-New York releases the October index of regional business activity at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). In September, the index read 538.0.
At 9:45 a.m., the Institute of Supply Management-Chicago releases its October index of manufacturing activity. Economists forecast a reading of 59.0, compared with 60.4 in September.
Japan sold the yen for the second time in
less than three months after it hit another record high against the dollar,
saying it intervened to counter speculative moves that were hurting the
economy.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by
Jeffrey Benkoe)
