Investors continued to dump equities on fears Federal Reserve rate hikes to fight rapid inflation would tip the economy into a recession.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials let go of 256 points, or 0.8%, to 32,184, a day after the index experienced the biggest one-day drop since 2020.
Futures for the S&P 500 slouched 31.75 points, or 0.8%, to 3,891. It also sits around 18% below its record closing level. A close of 20% or more below its all-time high would mark a bear market, its first since the March 2020 pandemic selloff.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index flopped 99.25 points, or 0.8%, to 11,836.25.
The Dow has declined for seven straight weeks and is down 13% this year. The S&P 500 is off 17.7% in 2022, and the NASDAQ is down 27%.
Cisco was the latest major company to plunge on results with the tech bellwether down 11% in premarket trading Thursday. Cisco said after the bell Wednesday that quarterly revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations and it warned revenue would disappoint in the current quarter.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.9% Thursday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 2.5%.
Oil prices ditched $1.75 to $107.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surged $13.40 to $1,829.40 U.S. an ounce.