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Futures down: S&P 500 2.26%, Nasdaq 100 2.34%, Dow 2.38%
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Howmet Aerospace ( HWM ) falls on report it may halt orders if hit
by
tariffs
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S&P 500, Dow futures down 20% from record highs
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Goldman Sachs raises odds of US recession
(Updates with analyst comment, fresh prices)
By Pranav Kashyap
April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slumped on
Monday and the S&P 500 was poised to confirm a bear market as
investors barreled into government bonds on worries over the
fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plans.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell to 3.954%,
with investors pricing in a chance of a fifth interest-rate cut
from the Federal Reserve this year.
S&P 500 futures plunged more than 20% from their peak,
suggesting the benchmark index is heading toward bear
market territory. If the index ends down 20% from its all-time
closing highs, it would confirm the index has been in a bear
market since February.
Dow futures also fell 20% from their peak.
Trump announced hefty tariffs against U.S. trading partners
last week, sparking retaliation from China and fueling concerns
that the trade war will impede economic growth and stoke
inflationary pressures.
In the two sessions after Trump's tariff decision, the S&P
500 has tumbled 10.5%, erasing nearly $5 trillion in market
value, marking its most significant two-day loss since March
2020.
Trump told reporters late on Sunday that investors must
endure the consequences and that he would refrain from
negotiating with China until the U.S. trade deficit is
addressed.
"People are pulling out and holding it in cash and are going
to be sitting on it for a little bit," Daniela Hathorn, senior
market analyst at Capital.com, said.
"They'll be assessing what's going on before hedging,
because everything is dropping. This sticky environment doesn't
seem like it can recover anytime."
By 6:22 a.m. ET (1122 GMT), U.S. S&P 500 E-minis
were down 115.25 points, or 2.26%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis
were down 411 points, or 2.34%, Dow E-minis were down
916 points, or 2.38%.
Futures tracking the U.S. small-cap Russell 2000 index
tumbled 4.5%, underscoring concerns about the health of
the domestic economy.
The CBOE Volatility Index, seen as Wall Street's fear
gauge, was up 7.57 points to 52.88.
Stocks fell across the board in premarket trade, with
megacaps continuing to bear the brunt. Apple ( AAPL ) fell 2.5%,
Nvidia ( NVDA ) lost 2.7%, while Amazon.com ( AMZN ) shed 2.4%.
Howmet Aerospace ( HWM ) dropped 6.5%, after a report said
the aircraft parts supplier may halt some shipments if they are
impacted by Trump's tariffs.
The sharp declines in the past two sessions pushed the
tech-heavy Nasdaq into bear market, while the Dow Jones
Industrial Average slumped more than 10% from its
record-closing high.
The fear of a tariff-led recession caused markets to bring
into play the chances of an interest-rate cut in May, with
traders seeing a 54% possibility, according to data compiled by
LSEG.
Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a U.S. recession to 45%
from 35%, the second time it has increased its forecast in a
week amid a growing chorus of such predictions by investment
banks due to an escalating trade war.
Several speeches by Fed officials are slated throughout the
week, with markets keenly observing any signals of recessionary
fears.
The week ahead is also packed with a series of economic
indicators, with consumer price data set to take center stage on
Thursday.