U.S. stock-index futures were sliding lower late Monday in New York, with futures for the Dow down nearly 110 points at its nadir, after reports that North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew over Japanese airspace, reigniting geopolitical tensions that had cooled between North Korea and U.S. allies in the Pacific Rim. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down about 85 points, or 0.4%, at 21,706 in late-Monday trade. Those for the S&P 500 index were down 0.5% at 2,430, and Nasdaq-100 futures retreated by 0.6% at 5,809. According to South Korean military officials and Japan’s government, a ballistic missile passed through Japanese airspace over the island of Hokkaido around 6 a.m. local time before splashing into the Pacific Ocean. South Korean military officials said the missile was launched outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and flew more than 1,600 miles. The three main equity benchmarks ended little changed at regular close of trade on Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 ended near break-even levels, while the Nasdaq Composite Index posted a modest gain of 0.3%. The launch marks the first time since 2009 that North Korea has fired a missile over the mainland Japan, according to Kyodo News and comes as South Korea and the U.S. are engaged in military training drills, which began Aug. 21. After reports of the missile, haven gold rose to its highest level since around September at $1,323.30 an ounce in electronic trade, according to FactSet data.
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