Wall Street was poised to open with losses today, the Associated Press reports, kicking off a holiday-shortened week that features another hefty slate of earnings and the government’s latest jobs report. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were each down 0.5% before the bell.
Shares of U.S. Steel tumbled 4.4% after Vice President Kamala Harris told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Monday that she opposed the company’s planned sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel. The Democratic presidential nominee’s comments, which echo President Joe Biden’s position, came after Nippon Steel Corp. said last week it would spend an additional $1.3 billion to upgrade facilities in Pennsylvania and Indiana, on top of a previous $1.4 billion commitment. Nippon also reiterated that it expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2024, despite ongoing political and labor opposition.
Boeing shares slid 3.5% after its stock was downgraded by Wells Fargo ahead of a potential machinists strike. Boeing’s contract with the International Association of Machinists is set to expire just before midnight on Sept. 12.
On Friday, closely watched U.S. jobs data is expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s read on the American economy and when it will start lowering interest rates. The move will have repercussions through global markets.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 89 cents to $72.66 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.51 to $76.01 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar slipped to 146.14 Japanese yen from 146.89 yen.
