Futures are lower
Near 9:09 a.m. ET, Dow futures were off 63 points, S&P 500 futures were off 7 points, and Nasdaq futures were down 16. These all amounted to a less than 1% decline.
It's already a busy news week. Here are some of the major stories that have crossed:
- Alcoa is splitting itself into two public companies: The Upstream Co. that will primarily do mining and exploration, and Value-Add Co. that will turn raw material into industrial products.
- Whole Foods is cutting 1,500 jobs (or 1.6% of its workforce) as part of an ongoing restructuring that includes reducing its grocery prices.
- Glencore shares are getting wrecked. The mining giant's stock fell 30% in London after analysts at Investec wrote that persistent, weak commodity prices could wipe out all of the company's equity value.
Commodities are under pressure. Gold fell more than 1%, or $15.80 an ounce to around $1,129.80, a one-week low. Silver was down more than 3%, or $0.5 an ounce, near $14.60. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York dropped below $45, down more than 2% near $44.59.
In economic data, personal income rose 0.3% in August, more than expected, while personal spending rose 0.4%, less than forecast.
Pending home sales and the Dallas Fed's manufacturing survey are due at 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. ET respectively.
Monday's trading session starts after two back-to-back weeks of stock market declines, and uncertainty is still the big theme.
There could be another government shutdown if Congress does not agree on a fiscal 2016 budget by September 30, although experts say the odds are quite low. And, the S&P 500 rallied during the shutdown of 2013.
We're closing in on Q3 earnings season. Traders are worried about a third straight quarter of S&P 500 revenue declines. Costco and Micron Technology are two big names reporting this week, and Alcoa will unofficially kick off the earnings sprint next Thursday.
You can read our full preview of this week's big economic events here.