U.S. stock futures pointed to opening losses for Wall Street on Friday, after North Korea reportedly threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. Speaking in New York at a United Nations meeting, North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said late Thursday his country might consider a nuclear test of “unprecedented scale” in the Pacific. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 61 points, or 0.3%, to 22,271, while S&P 500 futures lost 7.1 points, or 0.3%, to 2,493.75. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 27 points, or 0.5%, to 5,918.50. The losses were in line with weaker Asian markets, where the South Korean Kospi index fell 0.7%. Gold , an asset that grows attractive in times of geopolitical tension, pushed back above the $1,300-an-ounce level, gaining $6.80, while the Japanese yen, another haven asset, surged against the dollar to ¥111.76 from ¥112.47 in late North American trade on Thursday. U.S. stocks retreated from record levels on Thursday as the Dow industrials snapped a nine-day winning streak.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News