(Jan 17): US stock index futures fell the most this year as investors sought safe-haven assets following President-elect Donald Trump's comments on the US dollar and British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit speech.
May said her plans for Britain's exit from the European Union mean that it could no longer remain in the single market but she would seek a deal that would take in some aspects of membership.
The dollar index fell 0.62% against a basket of major currencies after Trump told the Wall Street Journal that US companies could not compete with China "because our currency is too strong. And it's killing us".
The US dollar hit a 13-year high following Trump's election in November on bets that he would cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending that would boost economic growth.
However, the currency has fallen since Jan 9 as Trump has given little details on how he will keep his promises. US dollar's strength could be put to test again on Inauguration Day on Friday.
Gold prices surged more than 1%, trading at a near two-month high, while the Japanese yen rose to a six-week high.
Big US banks kicked off fourth-quarter earnings season on Friday on a sanguine note, bringing some cheer to the market. A late pop in Facebook nudged the Nasdaq to a record high.
Morgan Stanley rose 1.6% to US$44.49 in premarket trading on Tuesday after reporting a quarterly profit that doubled.
Earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 6.2% in the latest quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
US markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard is scheduled to speak on monetary and fiscal policy in Washington at 10:00am ET (1500 GMT).
Clayton Williams shares were up nearly 30% at US$135 after Noble Energy said it would buy the oil producer for about US$2.7 billion.
Reynolds American were up 3.6% at US$58 after British American Tobacco agreed to buy its US rival for US$49.4 billion.
Futures snapshot at 6:52am ET:
Dow e-minis were down 91 points, or 0.46%, with 34,690 contracts changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis were down 11.75 points, or 0.52%, with 213,906 contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 26 points, or 0.51%, on volume of 35,961 contracts.