U.S. stock futures pointed to a rough start to March for the equity market as oil prices surged and investors continue to monitor the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials wallowed 245 points, or 0.7%, Tuesday to 33,595
Futures for the S&P 500 flopped 30.25 points, or 0.7%, to 4,337.75
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index fell 95 points, or 0.7%, to 14,133.
The decline in index futures came as satellite cameras captured a convoy of Russian military vehicles apparently on its way to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
Financial stocks were some of the biggest early losers in Tuesday premarket trading, with Bank of America down 2%, Citigroup off 1.8% and Charles Schwab lower by 1.5%.
Some of the early stock losses were offset by strong Target earnings, as the Big Box retailer posted profit of $3.19 a share that was well ahead of Wall Street estimates. Shares jumped nearly 10% in premarket trading.
As corporate earnings season winds down, cloud giant Salesforce reports results after the close.
On the economic front, February’s Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Manaters Index will be released at 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI for February will be out at 10 a.m.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index surged 1.2%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.2%.
The price of oil shot up $4.79 to $100.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $21.70 to $1,922.40 U.S. per ounce,