U.S stock futures were a bit softer on Monday, although well off session lows due to concerns about the banking sector.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell 385 points, or 1.19%, to 31862, the S&P 500 SPX fell 44 points, or 1.1%, to 3917, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP fell 87 points, or 0.74%, to 11631.
The new week begins with investors hoping that UBS UBS, buying its beleaguered Swiss peer Credit Suisse CS, will draw a line under banking sector angst. The U.S. equity futures have reversed after an initial rally late on Sunday, but are off session lows. The euro Stoxx bank index, SX 7 E, fell to a three month low, but pre-market trading shows a mixed performance by U.S regional banks. Traders have become concerned that the Federal ReserveFederal Reserve hiked interest rates over the past 12 months, as it looks to combat inflation still at 2%, which has caused severe difficulties for parts of the financial sector. C once said that aggressive monetary policy had a major impact on the economy, banking business and human behavior, in general, can't be overlooked and is not seen in balance sheets yet. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said that uncertainty could be high for a long time, even if recent bank support measures are successful. With gold GC 00 at one point moving above $2,000 an ounce, and bitcoinBTCUSD at $28,000, there were perceived havens being bought. The dollar DXY, which usually rallies at times of global market anxiety, is little changed, as traders increase bets that the Fed will have to leave interest rates where they are after its policy meeting on Wednesday.