Sharp declines in U.S. stock index futures triggered trading curbs meant to slow panicked markets as the price of oil fell by more than 30 percent and bond yields crashed amid heightened worries over the coronavirus.
E-mini futures on the S&P 500 dropped by 5 percent in overnight trading Sunday, triggering automatic trading curbs that kick-in when the price falls below 5 percent of the closing price of the referenced index Friday. As a result, the futures contract cannot trade at a lower price until the cash market opens at 9:30 a.m., although trades may still be made at higher prices.
The last time futures trading hit the overnight limit was election night of 2016, when markets initially sold off following the news that Donald Trump had won the election. That selling pressure quickly subsided and the major indexes closed up by around 1 percent or so the following day.
The E-mini is an electronically traded futures contract based on the underlying S&P 500 index. The contracts are around one-fifth the size of the standard S&P futures contracts, earning them the monicker “mini.” They are considered highly liquid and are widely traded but they have, in a few past episodes, been prone to so-called “flash crashes.”
New York, California projected to lose 6 House seats to red states after 2030, census analysis shows
GOP split over whether Trump’s de-escalation efforts in Minnesota is a ‘retreat’
US deports 3 former Iranian Guard members amid rising tensions with Tehran
What Does It Say About Tim Walz That He Compared ICE to Nazis and Then Offered to Work with Them a Day Later?
‘I Lost Touch With Reality’: Kanye West Takes Out Full-Page WSJ Ad to Ask for ‘Forgiveness’
Trump says US will ‘no longer help’ Iraq if Nouri al Maliki returns to power
Well-known Texas attorney’s wife among victims of deadly private jet crash in Maine
Retired NYPD officer collapses, dies shoveling snow for churchgoers during devastating Northeast winter storm
Joe Biden Gets Hit with a Reality Check After Issuing a Statement on ICE Shooting
Trump hits the road to sell economic wins as Republicans brace for high-stakes midterm showdown
Trump admin marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day honoring millions murdered by Nazi regime
Video: To Assure Attacks on ICE Continue, CNN Airs Guest Suggesting ICE Will Begin ‘Putting People in Ovens’
Florida GOP Rep Vern Buchanan to retire, adding to wave of House exits
Minnesota fraud whistleblower says ‘lack of guardrails was pretty shocking’
Iran Suddenly Wants to Strike a Deal After ‘Big Armada’ Arrives: Trump
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite remain above the level that would trigger curbs in those contracts.
The chaotic market action was not confined to equities futures on Sunday. Investors bid up Treasuries, pushing yields down to new record lows, and oil prices tanked.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note sank 37 basis points to touch 0.448 percent in overnight trading Sunday. The yield on 30-year Treasuries fell below 1 percent.
New York, California projected to lose 6 House seats to red states after 2030, census analysis shows
GOP split over whether Trump’s de-escalation efforts in Minnesota is a ‘retreat’
US deports 3 former Iranian Guard members amid rising tensions with Tehran
What Does It Say About Tim Walz That He Compared ICE to Nazis and Then Offered to Work with Them a Day Later?
‘I Lost Touch With Reality’: Kanye West Takes Out Full-Page WSJ Ad to Ask for ‘Forgiveness’
Trump says US will ‘no longer help’ Iraq if Nouri al Maliki returns to power
Well-known Texas attorney’s wife among victims of deadly private jet crash in Maine
Retired NYPD officer collapses, dies shoveling snow for churchgoers during devastating Northeast winter storm
Joe Biden Gets Hit with a Reality Check After Issuing a Statement on ICE Shooting
Trump hits the road to sell economic wins as Republicans brace for high-stakes midterm showdown
Trump admin marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day honoring millions murdered by Nazi regime
Video: To Assure Attacks on ICE Continue, CNN Airs Guest Suggesting ICE Will Begin ‘Putting People in Ovens’
Florida GOP Rep Vern Buchanan to retire, adding to wave of House exits
Minnesota fraud whistleblower says ‘lack of guardrails was pretty shocking’
Iran Suddenly Wants to Strike a Deal After ‘Big Armada’ Arrives: Trump
Oil prices crashed more than 30 percent Sunday night after Saudia Arabia on Saturday slashed official crude prices for April following the collapse of talks between OPEC+, which includes the traditional OPEC nations plus Russia. Oil had fallen sharply on Friday following the news that talks had fallen apart but took an even deeper tumble, falling an additional 20 percent or so, when it became apparent that the once allied oil producers were now engaged in a price war to take market share from each other.
Low oil prices were an unambiguous boon to the U.S. economy, boosting consumer buying power and keeping a lid on inflation. But now that the U.S. is once again a major world oil producer, low oil prices can weigh on employment, manufacturing, and the financial stability of heavily-leveraged U.S. drillers. That could even shake some regional banks with large exposures to the drillers.
Story cited here.
