Stock futures plummeted on Monday morning as Donald Trump's failure to push through health care reform raised doubts over his ability to enact promised change.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.93%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.8%, and Nasdaq futures declined 0.8%.
"It leaves investors worrying what's next," Charlie Ripley, investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management, told TheStreet. "We came into this knowing that a lot of these Trump agendas are going to take a lot longer than what investors have been anticipating, and we think the stumble with the health care bill is opening up the eyes of other investors to that notion."
The GOP's failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, a campaign commitment, was viewed as a litmus test for Trump's ability to achieve major change in Washington. Financials received a big boost following Trump's surprise election in November and his promises of relaxed industry regulation, though those changes now look more distant. House Speaker Paul Ryan said during a press conference on Friday afternoon that tax reform had been made more difficult by the failure of the health care bill, but not impossible.
House leaders pulled the unpopular health care bill ahead of a vote late Friday afternoon after Republicans failed to secure enough votes for passage. While Ryan has promised the fight to repeal and replace Obamacare is ongoing, changes in the near term look unlikely. In a press conference on Friday, the speaker said Obamacare remains the law of the land and Americans will live with it for "the foreseeable future."
Crude oil prices and the U.S. dollar were under pressure on Monday morning. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.8% to $47.59 a barrel. The U.S. dollar declined 0.6% against the euro, 1% against the Japanese yen, 0.3% against the Canadian dollar, and 1% against the British pound.
Snap (SNAP) climbed 4% on Monday morning following a series of analyst moves. RBC Capital initiated coverage at overweight with a $31 price target. JPMorgan rated the disappearing message app at neutral with a $24 a share target. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies both have the stock rated as a buy. Snap was given a series of sell ratings when it made its market debut at the beginning of the month.
Sealed Air (SEE) rose 1% in premarket trading after agreeing to sell its Diversey Care division and its food hygiene and cleaning units to Bain Capital. The deal, worth around $3.2 billion, is expected to close in the second half of the year. Sealed Air also authorized an extra $1.5 billion to be added to its share repurchase program.
G-III Apparel (GIII) shares slumped in premarket trading following a disappointing fourth quarter. The apparel company reported a loss of 42 cents a share, down from profit of 17 cents in the year-ago quarter. An adjusted loss of 16 cents a share was wider than consensus of 10 cents. For its current fiscal year, G-III anticipates earnings no higher than 90 cents a share, well below estimates of $1.34. CEO Morris Goldfarb said the retail environment had "become increasingly disrupted as a result of evolving consumer buying behavior and continued penetration of e-commerce."
