MARKET SNAPSHOT: Nasdaq Poised For Third Day Of Losses As U.S. Stock Futures Sag

Updates on pending home sales, weekly oil supplies on tap

U.S. stocks were poised for more losses at the open Wednesday, with investors seen taking a cautious approach as the slide in technology shares weighed on minds.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 23 points, or 0.1%, to 21,268.00, and S&P 500 futures shed 5.1 points, or 0.2%, to 2,415.50. But Nasdaq-100 futures lost 37.75 points, or 0.7%, to 5,638.50, signaling the technology-heavy index is poised for a third straight loss.

The three major indexes all fell Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-on-track-to-slip-hurt-again-by-a-drop-for-techs-2017-06-27), after a delay to a vote on health care legislation prompted worries about the prospects for President Donald Trump's pro-growth agenda. The S&P 500 gave up 19.69 points, or 0.8%, to close at 2,419.38, and the Dow industrials slipped 2.53 points to close at 21,394.76 after a choppy session.

The latest day of weakness for tech stocks was reflected in the Nasdaq Composite Index , which ended 100.53 points, or 1.6%, lower to 6,146.62, as Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) (GOOGL) , Facebook Inc. (FB) and Netflix Inc. (NFLX) logged losses.

"U.S. technology stocks have been very weak lately, both in absolute and relative terms ... massive outperformance year-to-date is the segment's biggest weakness," said Peter Garnry, Saxo Bank's head of equities strategy, in a note Wednesday. "Valuations are historically high in U.S. tech stocks, and sentiment has weakened fast over the past 24 hours."

Another factor still hanging over markets are European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's comments on Tuesday, in which he hinted the bank is ready to begin unwinding its monetary easing.

"Risk-off sentiment seems to be brewing in markets after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's hawkish inflation comments yesterday. Central banks are removing the punch bowl for financial markets, and that will have effects across global markets," he said.

Economic docket: The advance look at trade in goods in May is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The trade gap in goods--services are excluded--is expected to narrow to $65.8 billion from $67.6 billion in April, according to a MarketWatch survey of economists.

At 10 a.m. Eastern, the National Association of Realtors is expected to say pending home sales improved in May, by rising 0.5%. That would break two months of declines.

The oil market will be in focus with the Energy Information Administration's report on weekly crude supplies due at 10:30 a.m. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported an unexpected weekly rise of 851,000 barrels in U.S. crude supplies (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-fall-as-sources-say-api-data-show-an-unexpected-rise-in-us-crude-supply-2017-06-27).

See: MarketWatch's economic calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic).

Stocks in focus:General Mills Inc.(GIS) and Monsanto Co.(MON) are slated to release quarterly results ahead of the bell.

Other markets: U.S. oil futures were slightly lower but holding above $44 a barrel.

The ICE Dollar Index , which measures the dollar against a basket of six currencies, shed 0.1%, with the euro driving toward its highest in a year. Gold was modestly higher.

Stock markets in Asia finished mostly higher and European stocks struggled at two-month lows as the euro popped higher on Draghi's hawkish comments.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 28, 2017 06:38 ET (10:38 GMT)