US STOCKS-Futures drop on trade concerns; Boeing hit by 737 MAX worries

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* Futures down: Dow 0.73%, S&P 500 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.71%

By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street was headed for a second
straight session of declines on Tuesday as an escalation in
U.S.-China tensions tempered expectations from the high-level
trade talks this week, while Boeing was hit by fresh concerns
over its grounded 737 MAX jets.
The U.S. government on Monday widened its trade blacklist to
include Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision 002415.SZ
and surveillance equipment maker Zhejiang Dahua Technology
002236.SZ among others, drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing.
Souring the mood further was a South China Morning Post
report https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3032016/china-tones-down-expectations-ahead-us-trade-war-talks-vice
that said China had toned down its expectations ahead of the
talks and that the Chinese delegation could depart Washington a
day earlier than planned.
The U.S. action pressured suppliers to the Chinese firms.
Intel Corp INTC.O and Nvidia Corp NVDA.O fell about 1% in
premarket trading, while Ambarella Inc AMBA.O slumped 10%.
Dow .DJI heavyweight Boeing Co BA.N fell 1.5% after the
Wall Street Journal reported friction between the United States
and Europe could further delay efforts to resume flights of the
planemaker's best-selling 737 MAX jets, which have been grounded
since early 2019.
The three main indexes logged their first fall in three
sessions on Monday as investors tackled mixed headlines on
U.S.-China trade. Risk appetite has also been hit by weak
economic indicators last week and intensifying efforts to
impeach President Donald Trump.
At 7:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 192 points,
or 0.73%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 20 points, or 0.68%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 55.25 points, or 0.71%.
The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX is now about 3% off its
record high hit in July.
Market participants will now turn their attention to the
third-quarter earnings season beginning next week for evidence
of the impact of the trade war on corporate America.
Analysts expect the worst quarterly profit performance since
2016, with earnings from S&P 500 companies declining nearly 3%
from a year earlier, based on IBES data from Refinitiv.
Among other stocks, Nektar Therapeutics NKTR.O slid 7.1%
after Goldman Sachs downgraded the drug developer's stock to
"sell." U.S.-listed Chinese stocks also declined, with Alibaba Group
Holding BABA.N , JD.com Inc JD.O and Baidu Inc BIDU.O down
between 1.6% and 3%.
On the data front, the Labor Department will release its
report on producer price index (PPI), at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is
expected to have remained at 0.1% last month.