Wall Street poised to open lower as dismal U.S. factory data scares investors
Wall Street looks set to open lower on Wednesday as market participants reacted to a report that showed U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for a second consecutive month.
Data released by the Institute for Supply Management on Tuesday showed U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 47.8 in September from 49.1 in August.
The reading marks the second consecutive month of contraction and is the lowest since June 2009. Some analysts have attributed the disappointing data to President Donald Trump’s prolonged trade war with China.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 104 points, or about 0.39% to 26,417. S&P 500 futures fell 12.13 points, or around 0.41%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 38 points, or roughly 0.49% to 7,657.50.
Exxon Mobil warns profit could fall by around 50%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has said that its third-quarter income could fall by about 50% on a year-over-year basis to around $3.1 billion, due to lower crude prices.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, the company said its oil and gas production segment will see a 45% decline from the $4.23 billion reported a year ago.
It also expects downstream profits to fall 70% to $500 million. The oil giant will announce third-quarter results on Oct. 31. Shares of the company were down 1.09% to $68.20 in premarket trade.
Boris Johnson to submit ‘final’ Brexit offer to EU
UK prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to send his “final” Brexit offer to the European Union on Wednesday. Johnson has warned that he will walk away from the table and take the UK out of the EU without a deal on Oct. 31 if the bloc doesn’t engage with his proposal.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the prime minister wants the controversial Irish border backstop scrapped and instead placing Northern Ireland in the EU single market until 2025. The back stop has been the major hurdle to a Brexit agreement.
His offer is however expected to face intense opposition from the Irish government and EU leaders, according to the paper. The British pound was down 0.5% against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday morning, and 0.4% against the euro.
