MW: U.S. stock market futures point to heavy losses
By Barbara Kollmeyer
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures are trading sharply lower in the wake of a heavy sell-off overnight in Asia as nervous markets worried about banks' exposure to Dubai World's debt. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 301 points, or nearly 3%, to 10,141. Futures for the S&P 500 were down 39.1 points, or 3.6%, to 1,069.50, while futures for the Nasdaq 100 were down 65 points, or 3.6%, to 1,729.25. Dubai World, the city state's largest corporate entity on Wednesday asked creditors for as six-month stay on debt repayments of $59 billion. European markets are also pointing to a second-day sell off with Eurostoxx futures down over 2%. Commodity prices also traded sharply lower, with oil futures down 5%. The dollar rose against its rivals as investors sold currencies perceived as risky. The dollar index (DXY 75.42, +0.59, +0.79%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 1% to 75.555.
