(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell about 1% in early New York hours on Wednesday as soaring oil prices fed into fears of higher inflation, while a stalemate continued in the U.S. Congress over the government debt ceiling.
Asian and European stocks fell earlier in the day as oil hit a multi-year high above $83 a barrel amid a rally in global energy prices, fuelling concerns that major central banks will tighten monetary policy to counter sharp price rises. [MKTS/GLOB]
All eyes will be on the U.S. private payrolls data, due at 8:15 a.m. ET. The numbers come ahead of the more comprehensive non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which is expected to cement the case for the Federal Reserve’s slowing of asset purchases.
Megacap technology stocks including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell more than 1% each in premarket trading after staging a strong rebound on Tuesday.
A stalemate over Republicans and Democrats about the debt limit showed no sign of abating, with President Joe Biden saying that his Democrats might make an exception to a U.S. Senate rule to allow them to extend the government’s borrowing authority without Republican help.