MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stock Futures Drop After North Korea Test, As Traders Take Labor Day Break

Futures for the Dow industrials were down by as many as 103 points

U.S. stock-index futures fell Monday, with analysts blaming the drop on renewed worries about North Korea after the isolated nation conducted its largest-ever nuclear test.

Futures for the main equity benchmarks were declining alongside European (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-drop-after-north-korea-tests-its-nuclear-arsenal-2017-09-04) and Asian markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wary-investors-weigh-on-asian-markets-after-north-korean-nuclear-test-2017-09-03), putting the market on track for a selloff at Tuesday's open, as American stock exchanges are closed Monday for Labor Day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/labor-day-which-markets-will-be-closed-2017-08-29).

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pulled back by 53 points, or 0.2%, to 21,927.00. They briefly traded lower by as many as 103 points, according to FactSet data.

S&P 500 futures lost 7.70 points, or 0.3%, to 2,466.50, while Nasdaq-100 futures shed 20 points, or 0.3%, to 5,968.25.

North Korea on Sunday detonated a nuclear device (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-hails-perfect-success-of-latest-nuclear-test-triggering-magnitude-63-earthquake-2017-09-03) far more powerful than any that it has previously tested, and South Korea said Monday that Pyongyang is making preparations for the possible launch (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-is-getting-ready-for-another-possible-icbm-launch-says-south-korea-2017-09-04) of another intercontinental ballistic missile.

"This North Korean-induced crisis has led to an immediate selloff in risk assets, particularly in Asian stocks, leading to a concentrated move into safe-haven assets," said Mihir Kapadia, CEO of Sun Global Investments, in a note Monday. "There will be a period of caution now as markets await the international response."

Read more:'We have many military options,' Mattis warns North Korea (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-have-many-military-options-mattis-warns-north-korea-2017-09-03)

And see:North Korea might finally have a nuclear deterrent (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-might-finally-have-a-nuclear-deterrent-2017-09-03)

Among the safety plays rising after North Korea's latest moves, gold futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-rises-near-1-year-high-after-north-korea-tests-nuclear-bomb-2017-09-04) jumped and flirted with a one-year high.

Check out:How North Korea's nuclear test is rattling markets -- in 5 charts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-north-koreas-nuclear-test-rattled-markets-in-5-charts-2017-09-04)

On Friday, the Dow , the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all finished higher and scored their second straight weekly gain (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-industrials-set-to-rise-and-flirt-with-22000-as-jobs-report-arrives-2017-09-01). The Dow and S&P stand less than 1% below their all-time closing highs hit a month ago, while the Nasdaq achieved a fresh record close on Friday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 04, 2017 07:37 ET (11:37 GMT)