Wall Street was bracing for losses Monday as a risk-averse atmosphere gripped investors ahead of the first U.S. presidential debate and an important meeting of major global producers.
Meanwhile, heavy losses for Germany's Deutsche Bank AG took a heavy toll on European markets and threatened to weigh on U.S. financial shares later. Separately, the market also will be digesting CBOE Holdings Inc.'s (CBOE) plan to acquire Bats Global Markets Inc. (BATS) in a deal valued at $3.2 billion.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 91 points, or 0.5%, to 18,099, while S&P 500 index futures dropped 9.85 points, or 0.5%, to 2,148.25. Nasdaq-100 lost 28.25 points, or 0.6%, to 4,828.25.
Stocks finished lower on Friday, though indexes posted a second-straight weekly gain, as investors took a hit from a renewed slide in oil prices. The S&P 500 index declined 0.6%, with a loss of 1.3% for the energy sector.
Part of Monday's declines was due to oil prices, which wobbled early as investors questioned whether the Organization of the Petroleum of Exporting Countries and other major oil producers, such as Russia, will make progress on a deal to limit production. The producers will meet on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria Wednesday.
U.S. crude futures picked up pace during the European session, with prices up 48 cents, or 1%, to $45.03 a barrel.
Presidential debate worries: Politics also were playing a big role in rattling investors ahead of Monday's U.S. presidential debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump.
"A number of forecasters have raised their odds of a Donald Trump presidency ahead of the first of the presidential debates Monday evening," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets, in a note to clients.
"[Monday], we'll get the first TV debate, and while it'll be too early to conclude too much from it (remember Obama's dreadful performance in his first debate with Romney), if the probability of a Trump victory increases in coming weeks, then you need to start questioning the Fed's intentions for December, and you'll want to reduce your exposure to, particularly, U.S. equities and the dollar," said Erik Nielsen, group chief economist at UniCredit Research, in a note to clients.
Nielsen said he was "amazed" that markets aren't more unsettled by opinion polls showing the election outcome remains difficult to guess.