Wall Street is heading for another tumble Monday, with investors nervous about government gridlock and a new round of economic data.
The stimulus package that passed the House last week now goes to the Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday the bill backed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could be defeated if it’s not stripped of what Republicans deem unnecessary spending.
Investors are also worried that a “bad bank” plan has not yet emerged from the White House. Such a plan would allow the government to take the riskiest assets off of banks’ books and put them into a government-controlled entity.
The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index are coming off their worst January ever, each dropping more than 8 percent during the month.
Investors have had little reason to buy back into the market, with corporate earnings and economic data coming in poor. On Monday, Wall Street will be focusing on data on personal income and spending; construction spending; and the manufacturing sector.
Ahead of the market’s open, Dow futures fell 96, or 1.21 percent, to 7,859. S&P 500 futures fell 11.40, or 1.39 percent, to 811.10, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 17.25, or 1.46 percent, to 1,162.00.
Trading is likely to be fractious this week as investors await the government’s January jobs report, due Friday morning.
The indexes have fallen for four straight weeks. The Dow closed last week down 0.90 percent, the S&P fell 0.70 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 0.10 percent.more
