Dow futures add to declines Thursday as President Trump floats idea of delaying 2020 election due to coronavirus
U.S. stock-index futures on Thursday were headed lower, with the market appearing to add to its losses following a tweet from President Donald Trump that suggested that the U.S. should delay the 2020 president election, which takes place on Nov. 3, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 45th president of the U.S. tweeted on Thursday: “With universal mail-in voting (not absentee voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most inaccurate & fraudulent election in history. It will be great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???” Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YMU20,
were down 315 points, or 1.2%, at 26,127, while those for the S&P 500 index
ESU20,
were down 1.1% at 3,216, while Nasdaq-100 futures
NQU20,
declined 1.1% at 10,554. The trade in markets where already under pressure after economic data that highlighted the impact of the public-health crisis on business activity. GDP fell at a 32.9% annualized pace, the Commerce Department said, a bit better than the 34.6% annual decline forecast in a MarketWatch survey, but still the worst in history. Separately, first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, to 1.43 million from an upwardly-revised 1.42 million, while continuing claims also rose to 17 million in the week ended July 18. The fall in futures imply that the Dow
DJIA,
S&P 500
SPX,
and Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
will open solidly lower on Thursday. Trump’s tweet also comes as he is facing an uphill battle against presumptive Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden, who currently leads in national polls against Trump.
