US pre-open: Wall Street rattled by Ebola fears as stock futures fall
News that the Ebola virus has reached New York City pushed US stock futures lower on Friday.
Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.2% by 08:32 in New York, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%.
On a quiet day for economic data - new homes sales were the only release - the focus was on a New York-based doctor who has become the fourth person in the US to have been diagnosed with Ebola.
Craig Spencer, who has been working recently in Guinea, reportedly came down with a fever on Thursday and has now been transferred to a hospital in Manhattan. Spencer's fiancee and two friends have reportedly been quarantined but have not shown any symptoms.
"The Dow is looking to open down after US equities have had the best week of the year to date with positive earnings reports from the likes of Caterpillar and Apple," said trader Toby Goar from Spreadex. "New York City is unsteadied by the news of the deadly virus spreading, putting a stop to the recent rise," he said.
Ebola stocks surge
While concerns about the spread of Ebola were weighing on the wider market, shares of protective-gear makers Lakeland Industries, Alpha Pro Tech and Versar had surged ahead of the bell.
UPS was making headlines after the shipping group beat expectations beat quarterly expectations and reiterated its outlook for the full year, anticipating a big jump in deliveries for the upcoming holiday season.
Online retail group Amazon's shares dropped over 10% in pre-market trade after the firm posted a net loss of $437m for the third quarter on Thursday night, more than 10 times bigger than the $41m loss it reported 12 months ago and over $100m worse than estimates. Sales rose 20% to $20.6bn, but were slightly below analysts' forecasts.
Microsoft jumped after impressing the market with its first-quarter estimates. Profits per share fell from 64 cents to 54 cents, but beat the 49 cents consensus forecast.