Stock Futures Tumble, Traders Blame China Regulatory News

Stock futures took a sharp dive around 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, with traders attributing the news to heavy selling of futures of H shares on Hong Kong's Hang Seng index , which were last down nearly 6%. H-shares are Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong. Traders on Twitter said the plunge coincided with news that China has allowed fund managers to lend stocks for short selling, which will boost the supply of shares. From slight declines ahead of that news, futures for the S&P 500 index slid 13.55 points, or 0.6%, to 2,086.75, while those for the Dow industrials slid 137 points, or 0.8%, to 17,904. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 40.75 points, or nearly 1%, to 4,374.75.