Stock Futures Point Lower as Oil Slides on Worries Over OPEC Deal

New York (Nov 28)  Stock futures pointed to modest losses Monday on Wall Street, putting four-day winning streaks for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 in jeopardy, after oil prices declined over worries an output cut wouldn't be forthcoming this week from OPEC.

Saudi Arabia suggested OPEC didn't need to reduce output to rebalance the oil market as increasing demand in 2017 will serve to drain a supply glut that has weighed on prices.

Saudi Arabia also pulled out of a planned meeting on Monday with non-OPEC oil producers, claiming the get-together was pointless until OPEC finalized its production targets. The 14-nation OPEC cartel is scheduled to meet Wednesday in Vienna.

Oil prices early in the U.S. fell 0.7% to $45.73 a barrel. Crude oil was declining for a third straight session on concerns OPEC would fail to agree to a production cut.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.35%, Dow futures declined 0.3% and Nasdaq futures tumbled 0.27%.

The economic calendar in the U.S. is quiet Monday but traders will be gearing up for data releases later this week, including the U.S. jobs report for November on Friday and the second estimate of third-quarter GDP on Tuesday.

European stocks fell Monday as the dollar weakened. The U.S. Dollar Index, which is a measure of the dollar relative to six foreign currencies, fell 0.06% to 101.33.

Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is traditionally the busiest online shopping day of the year. But with stores releasing Internet deals earlier, more and more shoppers decided to skip the mayhem at brick-and-mortar locations and purchased goods online.

Source: TheStreet