Futures are getting slammed
Good morning!
After a rough day Monday and a flat day Tuesday, US stocks were resuming their slide early Wednesday with futures falling more than 1% across the board overnight.
Near 7:15 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Dow futures were down about 250 points, S&P 500 futures were off 30, and Nasdaq futures were down 78 points.
In Europe, stocks were lower across the board.
Crude oil prices continued to make new lows on Wednesday with both WTI and Brent approaching $35 a barrel, putting the US and international benchmark prices near parity once again.
Markets also met Wednesday with some news out overnight at North Korea had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. Experts, however, are skeptical of the dictatorship's actual ability to carry out such a test, but markets seem to have opened 2016 in an environment where investors seem eager to worry about anything and everything.
Wednesday is a busy day for US economic data, with readings on the services sector, durable goods orders, the trade balance, and ADP's private payrolls number all set for release this morning.
This afternoon will also see the release of the minutes from the Fed's December meeting.