New York - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a weaker open on Monday, with investors monitoring the continued civil unrest in Hong Kong for any potential impact on Chinese growth.
The decline indicated by futures suggested that Wall Street's recent weakness would continue despite a solid rally in Friday's session. Last week, major indexes suffered their biggest weekly loss in the past eight.
China faced one of its biggest political challenges since the Tiananmen Square massacre as hundreds of democracy protesters faced down tear gas and police baton charges.
Though the economic fallout from the unrest was uncertain, Chinese growth has been a major driver of global share gains in recent years, although recent data has pointed to slowing conditions. An extended period of unrest could raise further questions about the economy's prospects.
The Hang Seng Index fell 1.9 percent. U.S.-listed shares of HSBC Holding fell 2.1 percent to $51.94.
“The Hong Kong unrest is very different than what we've seen in other parts of the world lately. Hong Kong has always been viewed as a stable and investment-friendly environment, so to see police with riot gear is creating real issues,” said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, New York.
In the latest economic data, consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in August, while personal income was up 0.3 percent. Investors were also looking ahead to August pending home sales data, due out after the market open.
Futures snapshot at 8:51:
* S&P 500 e-minis were falling 14.25 points, or 0.72 percent, with 225,998 contracts changing hands.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 30.75 points, or 0.76 percent, in volume of 39,365 contracts.
* Dow e-minis were down 114 points, or 0.67 percent, with 34,306 contracts changing hands.
Reuters