U.S. stock index futures traded lower on Monday, with Dow industrial component Boeing falling sharply following the weekend crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 jet.
Around 6:20 a.m. ET, Dow futures indicated a lower open of more than 100 points. Futures for S&P 500 and Nasdaq were mixed.
Dow component Boeing was solely responsible for the drop in the Dow futures in the premarket, with shares of the aerospace giant down nearly 10 percent in premarket trading as some airlines grounded the planemaker’s best-selling 737 MAX 8 passenger jet following the second deadly crash involving the plane.
Meanwhile, worries about signs of slowing in the U.S. economy continued to weigh on the market. Data on Friday showed the world’s largest economy added just 20,000 jobs in February versus an expected gain of 180,000 — marking the weakest month of jobs creation since September 2017.
The report came amid growing concern about the global economy. Data out of China last week showed its exports slumped 20.7 percent from a year earlier, far below analysts’ expectations and wiping out a surprise jump in January.
These figures all came less than 24 hours after the European Central Bank slashed its growth forecasts for the euro zone and announced a new round of policy stimulus.
On Sunday, Fed Chair Powell told “60 Minutes” that he thinks the U.S. economy is still strong, though he acknowledged that weakness around the world could start to hit the U.S.
“I would say there’s no reason why this economy cannot continue to expand,” he said.
Meanwhile, investors will keep an eye on more data out Monday, with retail sales out at 8:30 a.m. ET and business inventories at 10 a.m. ET.
On the earnings front, Coupe Software and Stitch Fix are due to report after the bell.
