Stock futures slide as G7 discusses euro zone crisis
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell in a choppy session on Tuesday as traders positioned for the outcome of emergency talks among the Group of Seven industrialized nations to tackle a deepening euro zone crisis.
Adding to the bearish sentiment, all of the euro zone's major economies are now in various states of decline, according `to business surveys that suggested even Germany is no longer immune to the crisis.
German debt prices rose and Spanish bond yields briefly jumped after Spain's treasury minister said the country was effectively shut out of the financing market. Spain's two-year yields rose above 5 percent for a fifth straight session while the 10-year held steady near 6.4 percent.
The S&P 500 was flat for the day on Monday after a steep decline last week as investors weighed low prices against the backdrop of Europe struggling with debt and stalling economies.
"Valuations are extremely attractive, dividend yields compared to Treasuries are at (multi-year) highs, but the global macro overhang can certainly create another down step in the short term," said Oliver Pursche, president at Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, New York.
"I'd be genuinely surprised if at the end of the meeting the G7 came out with concrete steps of what they are going to do," said Pursche.
S&P 500 futures fell 1.6 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 29 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 9.5 points.
The Institute for Supply Management releases its non-manufacturing index for May at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a reading of 53.5, a repeat of the April figure.
Facebook Inc was down more than 1 percent in light premarket trading after reaching a low of $26.44 on Monday. Four out of five Facebook users have never bought a product or service as a result of advertising or comments on the social network site, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 17.11 points, or 0.14 percent, to 12,101.46 at the close. The S&P 500 inched up just 0.14 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,278.18. The Nasdaq Composite rose 12.53 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,760.01.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)