Stock futures fell sharply on Sunday evening as investors responded to Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 292 points, or 0.7%, while S&P 500 futures pulled back 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.8%.The downgrade, which was announced on Friday, saw Moody's bump the country's rating down by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa. The agency cited the financing challenges tied to the federal government's growing budget deficit and the ramifications of rolling over existing US debts in a period of high borrowing costs."The fundamental factor of less foreign demand for them and the growing size of the pile of debt that needs to be constantly refinanced is not going to change," said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group. Moody's downgrade "is symbolic in the sense that here's a major rating agency that's calling out that the US has strained debts and deficits."The downgrade comes at a time when the economy is already under pressure from President Donald Trump's unfolding tariff policy. The debt downgrade could pressure bond prices and raise yields, which could have a ripple effect on the broader market.Despite the negative news, the stock market had a winning week last week, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite surging more than 7%. The broad S&P 500 jumped over 5% and posted a five-day winning streak. The blue-chip Dow rallied more than 3% last week, pushing the 30-stock average into positive territory for the year.Investors will be monitoring speeches from US central bank officials scheduled throughout the day on Monday, including Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic, New York Fed President John Williams, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan. Additionally, leading indicators data is due to be released in the morning.
Stock futures fall as U.S. debt downgrade raises concerns over rising deficit: Live updates

Pikachu
May 19, 2025
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