S&P 500 futures hold steady as oil slips

U.S. equity futures have approached record highs, but a drop in oil prices and a brief drop in gold and silver prices signaled investor unease over the strength of the economic recovery.

Futures contracts linked to the S&P 500 edged down 0.2% on Monday morning, after the broad market index hit a record high on Friday. Futures contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. Futures contracts on the Nasdaq-100 were relatively stable, fluctuating between small gains and losses.

Global benchmark Brent oil fell 4% to $ 67.87, putting it on track for its lowest settlement price since May. A Covid-19 outbreak in China has rekindled concerns about another knock on demand from the virus, traders said. Prices were also weighed down by weekend customs data which showed China was importing less crude per day in July than in June, analysts said.

Gold and silver fell briefly on Monday morning before regaining much of the lost ground. Analysts attributed the drop to higher bond yields and a stronger dollar following Friday’s strong US jobs report.

Gold futures fell 1.2% to $ 1,742.20 per troy ounce. Earlier, they fell to $ 1,672.80 per troy ounce, falling 5.1% from Friday’s close. Silver futures fell 7%, but recently fell 2.1%.