US pre-open: Futures point to early drop on Wall Street on Russia-Ukraine tensions

Stocks on Wall Street are set to start the week lower with investors under the weather due to warnings of a possible imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine and amid ongoing rate hike worries.

As of 1207 GMT, futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrials were trading off by 229.0 points at 34,398.9, alongside a 33.75 point decline for those on the S&P 500 to 4,375.75 while Nasdaq-100 futures were retreating by 138.0 points to 14,102.50.

In parallel, April gold futures on COMEX were climbing 0.85% to $1,857.50/oz., whilst front-dated West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were dipping 0.24% to $92.88 a barrel and the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was slipping by two basis points to 1.92%.

On 11 February, US intelligence warned that an invasion could come as soon as Wednesday, although that was only one possible scenario. Not coincidentally perhaps, the latest weather forecasts pointed to warmer than freezing minimum temperatures in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, from Wednesday onwards.

No major economic releases were scheduled for Monday, although some traders were expectant ahead of an expected interview on CNBC with St.Louis Fed President James Bullard.

For her part, at the weekend, the head of the San Francisco Fed, Mary Daly, sounded a dovish note.

"History tells us with Fed policy, that abrupt and aggressive action can actually have a destabilizing effect on the very growth and price stability we’re trying to achieve," Daly reportedly told CBS.