Wall Street futures fall up to 1.2% on US lender jitters, Bitcoin down 3%

Wall Street futures decline on profit booking in US Bank shares. 

Wall Street futures signalled a weak start for US equities on Friday as renewed concerns over the financial health of regional lenders in US weighed on investor sentiment.

Shares of major banks including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. were down in pre market trade. The slide followed sharp losses in regional bank stocks on Thursday, led by Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp, after both lenders said they were hit by fraud on loans linked to funds investing in distressed commercial mortgages.

Futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 declined up to 1.3 percent, while those tracking the S&P 500 were down 1 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.7 percent around 4 p.m. IST, pointing to a subdued opening for US markets later in the evening.

In Europe, the benchmark STOXX 600 slipped 1.5 percent. France’s CAC 40 fell 1 percent and Germany’s DAX declined 2.1 percent.

Asian markets ended mixed. South Korea’s Kospi closed marginally higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended lower.

On the domestic front, the BSE Sensex advanced 484.53 points or 0.58 percent to close at 83,952.19. The NSE Nifty gained 124.55 points or 0.49 percent to end at 25,709.85. During the day, the Sensex had touched a high of 84,172.24, up 704.58 points or 0.84 per cent.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin dropped around 3 percent in early Friday trade, tracking the broader risk-off mood across global markets.

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