Gold prices steady, holding sharp gains in wake of soft U.S. jobs data
(Corrects spelling in paragraph 1)
* Futures off: Dow 0.19%, S&P 0.24%, Nasdaq 0.40%
By Shreyashi Sanyal
May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on
Wednesday, as fears of a possible escalation in the trade war
between the United States and China were rekindled after reports
that Washington could impose sanctions on another Chinese
company.
This followed Washington's decision to temporarily ease
curbs on Huawei Technologies HWT.UL , which on Tuesday offered
a reprieve for investors who feared a hit to the global
technology sector after the Trump administration added the
Chinese telecoms equipment maker to a trade blacklist last week.
However, sentiment soured on reports of the U.S.
administration considering Huawei-like restrictions on Chinese
video surveillance firm Hikvision. The back-and-forth between the United States and China have
kept investors on edge, knocking the benchmark S&P 500 index
.SPX 3% off its all-time high on May 1.
Markets also waited for minutes from the Federal Reserve's
two-day policy meeting in late April when it held interest rates
steady. The minutes are due at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
Fed's St. Louis chief James Bullard, a voter in the
rate-setting committee this year, said on Wednesday further
weakness in inflation could prompt the central bank to cut
rates, even if economic growth maintains its momentum.
At 7:17 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 49 points, or
0.19%. S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 7 points, or 0.24% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 30 points, or 0.4%.
Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N fell 8.2% premarket after the home
improvement chain slashed its full-year profit forecast, a day
after disappointing earnings from department store operators
including Kohl's Corp KSS.N and J.C. Penney Co Inc JCP.N .
Nordstrom Inc JWN.N plunged 11% in premarket trading after
the department store operator cut its forecast for full-year
sales and profit. But retailer Target Corp TGT.N jumped 7.7% after its
quarterly same-store sales and profit beat Wall Street
estimates.
Among others, Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O fell 9.8% after a
federal judge ruled that the chipmaker unlawfully suppressed
competition in the market for cellphone chips and used its
dominant position to exact excessive licensing fees.