Futures slip on treasury secretary’s comments; eyes on upcoming Fed meet

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures took a hit on Monday as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments added to unease about an economic slowdown, while focus was on tariff-related signals from the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting.

In a Sunday interview with NBC, Bessent warned that there are “no guarantees” the United States will escape a recession.

His remarks heightened existing anxieties about the possibility of an economic downturn in the world’s largest economy. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have intensified fears of a trade war-induced recession.

Trump has made it clear there will be no exemptions for steel and aluminum tariffs, with reciprocal and sectoral tariffs poised to take effect on April 2.

The Fed’s rate decision is slated for Wednesday, with market expectations firmly anticipating that the U.S. central bank will maintain current interest rates, according to data compiled by LSEG.

All eyes will be on any indications from the Fed regarding economic growth caution or rising inflation concerns.

“FOMC participants will have to rethink their projections now that the first tariffs have taken effect and the White House looks set to eventually impose larger tariffs,” Goldman Sachs analysts said.

At 05:34 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 187 points, or 0.45%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 24.75 points, or 0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 87.75 points, or 0.45%.

Futures tracking the more domestically focused small-cap Russell 2000 index lost 0.6%.

Last week, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked their fourth consecutive weekly declines, with the Dow also experiencing a weekly drop.

The blue-chip Dow is teetering on the brink of a correction, hovering about 2% away and down roughly 8% from its all-time high.

The S&P 500 entered correction territory last week, following Nasdaq on March 6.

However, two encouraging inflation reports offered some respite from last week’s widespread Wall Street selloff.

That led to “dip buying” on Friday, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to their most significant one-day percentage gain since November 6.

Megacap stocks slipped in premarket trade on Monday, with Microsoft and Amazon.com losing 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively, while Tesla fell 1.8%.

Focus will be on February’s retail sales report and the monthly New York Fed manufacturing data, both scheduled for 08:30 a.m. ET.

Eyes will also be on developments related to the Ukraine-Russia war, as Trump planned to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bangalore; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)