US pre-open: Stocks seen weaker as investors eye presidential debate, OPEC

US futures pointed to a downbeat open on Wall Street as investors eyed an OPEC meeting and the first US presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

At 1220 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures were 0.6% lower.

Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “Stocks in the US look set for a lower open. A number of forecasters have raised their odds of a Donald Trump presidency ahead of the first of the presidential debates Monday evening.

"With shares near highs of the year, it seems fair to say that markets have so far discounted the probability of a Donald Trump victory. Mrs Clinton is seen as a continuation of the status quo, which hasn’t exactly provided stellar growth and economic opportunity for America’s poorest in the last decade. Donald Trump wants to shake up the status quo and from a market’s perspective that necessarily means uncertainty."

Meanwhile, oil prices were trading higher after Algeria’s energy minister Noureddine Bouterfa said on Sunday that all options for a production cut or freeze at this week’s OPEC meeting were on the table. Bouterfa said: "We will not come out of the meeting empty-handed.”

Oil prices had tumbled at the end of last week amid reports that Saudi Arabia was not expecting a deal to be made the meeting.

West Texas Intermediate was up 0.9% at $44.90 a barrel and Brent crude was 1.3% higher at $46.48.

In corporate news, Pfizer was likely to be in focus as the pharmaceutical group said it has decided not to split into two separate publicly-traded companies following an extensive evaluation.

Philadelphia-based Chemtura surged in pre-market trade after German specialty chemical group Lanxess announced plans to buy its US rival.

On the downside,Twitter slipped following a report last week that it was talking to a number of suitors about a potential sale.

On the macroeconomic calendar, new home sales figures are due at 1500 BST.

Aside from the data, investors will be looking to a speech from Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo on the “next steps in the evolution of stress testing” at Yale School of Management Leaders Forum in New Haven.