Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to sharp losses at the open on Tuesday, as ongoing concerns about sluggish global economic growth hurt investor sentiment.
During early morning hours in New York, the blue-chip Dow futures tumbled 232 points, or 1.41%, the S&P 500 futures slumped 30 points, or 1.52%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 77 points, or 1.78%.
On Monday, the Dow gained 125 points, after Federal Reserve officials signaled the central bank is likely to raise interest rates this year.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart both made the case for higher U.S. interest rates later this year, boosting shares.
Investors were looking ahead to a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen later in the week for additional clarity on the bank’s decision last week to leave interest rates on hold.
Most market experts believe the Fed will begin raising rates in December after keeping policy steady last week.
On the data front, the U.S. is to release July data for a house price index at 9:00AM ET, followed by a September figure for the Richmond Fed’s manufacturing gauge at 10:00AM.
In Europe, equity markets plunged as appetite for riskier assets weakened amid worries over sluggish global growth.
Germany's DAX crashed more than 2.5%, as steep declines in Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) weighed on the index.
Investors were looking ahead to Chinese manufacturing data on Wednesday, as well as surveys of the euro zone private sector for fresh indications on the condition of the global economy.
Elsewhere, growth-linked assets, such as copper and oil, fell sharply as ongoing worries over the health of the global economy fueled concerns that a global supply glut of both commodities may stick around for longer than anticipated.