U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Monday after two days of decline last week. Futures of major benchmark indices were over 3% lower in premarket trading.
The selloff that started on Thursday intensified on Friday as China introduced its retaliatory measures to U.S. tariffs. As of Friday, the S&P 500 was nearing the bear market zone as it closed 17.46% lower than its previous record high of 6,147.43 points.
Dow was 14.99% down from its 52-week high of 45,073.63 points, whereas the Nasdaq 100 was already in the bear market territory, 21.71% lower from its high of 22,222.61 points.
The hopes of a Fed ‘put’ remained on standby as Jerome Powell said Friday that “It is too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy.”
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 3.93% and the two-year bond was at 3.51%. However, the CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections rose, showing markets pricing a 48.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve easing the current interest rates in its May meeting.
Futures
Change (+/-)
Dow Jones
-3.61%
S&P 500
-3.74%
Nasdaq 100
-4.26%
Russell 2000
-4.82%
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, declined in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 4.01% to $485.03, while the QQQ declined 4.26% to $404.65, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
U.S. stocks closed Friday lower, with all sectors in the red. Financials, energy, and information technology led the S&P 500 sector declines.
Friday’s economic data showed strong March nonfarm payroll growth grew 228,000, exceeding expectations, though the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.2%, and average hourly earnings increased as predicted by 0.3% monthly, and 3.8% year-over-year.
The S&P 500 Index recorded its worst weekly decline since March 2020. With the S&P 500 plunging 10.5% over Thursday and Friday, this marks only the fourth time such a sharp two-day drawdown has occurred in modern market history—joining October 1987, September 2008, March 2020, and now April 2025.
Index
Performance (+/-)
Value
Nasdaq Composite
-5.82%
15,587.79
S&P 500
-5.97%
5,074.08
Dow Jones
-5.50%
38,314.86
Russell 2000
-4.37%
1,827.03
Insights From Analysts:
The S&P 500 and Dow are showing a worrying pattern of steep, consecutive drops, reminiscent of the Great Depression, according to the experts.
Carson Research’s chief market strategist, Ryan Detrick, noted on X that a 4% drop in the S&P 500 on Monday would be its third straight over 4% loss, a pattern seen only three times before, all during the Great Depression.
Full story available on Benzinga.com
