Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open for the major indices on Monday as the G20's decision to drop a pledge to avoid trade protectionism soured risk sentiment.
The blue-chip Dow futures slid 16 points, or 0.08%, by 07:00 ET (11:00GMT), the S&P 500 futures was down 4.25 points, or 0.18%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 3.38 points, or 0.06%.
The gains came after the S&P 500 gained 0.2% last week, while the Dow rose marginally and the NASDAQ ended up 0.7%.
Risk appetite was hit after G20 financial leaders dropped a pledge to keep global trade free and open from a policy statement, following opposition from the increasingly protectionist Trump administration.
Sentiment on the dollar deteriorated after the G20 statement amid uncertainty about U.S. trade relations and by extension the Trump administrations concerns over the strong dollar.
The dollar was already under pressure as expectations of a slower pace of U.S. interest rates hikes than some investors had anticipated weighed.
The Fed hiked rates last week, but stuck to its projection for two more hikes this year. Heading into the meeting, markets had braced for a potentially more hawkish tone from the U.S. central bank.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last at 100.05, after falling to overnight lows of 99.86, the weakest since February 6.
Investors were gearing up for a week in which no less than nine Fed officials were to speak, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans was to speak in New York later Monday.
Weakness in the greenback boosted dollar-denominated gold, which was last at $1,232.75.
Elsewhere in commodity markets, oil prices fell more than 1% amid concerns over rising U.S. output at a time when other major producers are cutting production in a bid to reduce a global supply glut.
U.S. crude futures fell 1.28% to $48.68 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude futures were down 1.12% to $51.18.
Meanwhile, U.S. listed shares in Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) fell over 2% ahead of the open after it outlined plans to issue new shares to raise nearly $9 billion in fresh capital in a bid to shore up its finances.
The German lender also said it cut bonuses to staff last year after suffering a second straight full-year loss.