By Dan Strumpf
U.S. stock futures retreated, tracing a slump in overseas
markets, amid resurgent concerns over slowing global growth.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 42 points, or 0.3%, to
16861. Futures on the S&P 500 index fell five points, or 0.2%,
to 1951. Nasdaq-100 Index futures retreated nine points, or 0.2%,
to 3998. Changes in futures prices don't necessarily correlate with
movements after the opening bell.
On Monday, major stock indexes in the U.S. slipped after
wavering between gains and losses, with the Dow Industrials falling
0.1% to 16991.91
Futures on major U.S. indexes Tuesday were lower as European
shares retreated, following weak data on German industrial output
that raised fears that growth in the continent's biggest economy
will be minimal in the third quarter. The figures were the second
piece of disappointing economic data from Germany in as many
days.
"There's concerns that we're going to have some issues in Europe
and that those concerns are going to come over here to the United
States," said Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist at Capitol
Securities and Management.
German industrial production fell 4% in August, well below
analyst expectations of a 1.5% decline. Germany's DAX index
declined 0.8% recently. The broader Stoxx Europe 600 index was down
0.9%.
Although the U.S. economy has been gaining steam through much of
this year, investors worry that slowdowns in other major
areas--from Europe to China to Japan--could spill over into the
U.S. Although the Federal Reserve is preparing to tighten monetary
policy in the coming months, central banks elsewhere are doubling
down on easy-money policies in a bid to restart flagging
growth.
"There are fears, particularly in some of the industrial and
engineering sectors, that these German figures are starting to
demonstrate more of a trend rather than just a blip," said Colin
McLean, managing director at investor SVM Asset Management in
Edinburgh.
Mr. Engelke said he believes U.S. growth remains on the right
track despite the slowdown in Europe. He said his firm has recently
been buying shares of smaller companies, which have retreated
sharply in recent months, arguing that they will rebound as
domestic growth continues to improve. The Russell 2000 index of
small-capitalization stocks declined 0.9% on Monday, outpacing the
fall in the broader the market.
"The valuations are very attractive," he said.
In economic news, the Labor Department will publish an update of
the number of U.S. job openings, offering additional insight on the
health of the country's labor market. On Wednesday, the Federal
Reserve will publish the minutes of its September meeting, which
investors are likely to pore over for clues on the central bank's
timeline for raising interest rates, widely expected sometime next
year.
Also Wednesday, Alcoa Inc. will report third-quarter earnings
after the opening bell, marking the unofficial start of the
reporting season.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased to 2.413% recently.
Yields move inversely to prices.
In corporate news, the CEO of Glencore PLC approached rival Rio
Tinto PLC about a possible merger over the summer, a tie-up that
would have combined two of the world's biggest mining giants.
U.S.-traded shares of Rio Tinto declined 1% premarket. Glencore
shares in the U.S. were inactive premarket.
European Union regulators opened a probe into Amazon.com Inc.'s
tax arrangements in Luxembourg. Shares fell 0.4% premarket.
In commodities news, crude-oil futures declined 0.2% to $90.18 a
barrel. Gold futures rose 0.3% to $1210.10 per ounce.
Josie Cox contributed to this article.
Write to Dan Strumpf at daniel.strumpf@wsj.com