US STOCKS-Futures fall as global growth worries weigh
(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Futures down: Dow 0.45 pct, S&P 0.41 pct, Nasdaq 0.36 pct
By Amy Caren Daniel
March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday after downbeat German data exacerbated fears of a slowdown in global growth following an abrupt dovish turn by the Federal Reserve earlier this week.
German manufacturing contracted further in March, showing its lowest reading since June 2013 and adding to worries that unresolved trade disputes were slowing down Europe's biggest economy.
Another survey showed that the Euro zone's business growth was worse than expected in March as factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in nearly six years.
The clutch of dismal data comes after the Fed on Wednesday abandoned projections for any interest rate hikes this year as policymakers see a U.S. economy that is rapidly losing momentum.
Adding to the uncertainty in markets were concerns over trade after Bloomberg reported that U.S. officials downplayed the prospect of an imminent trade deal with Beijing, just as U.S. trade delegates head to Beijing next week.
Chipmakers, which get a huge chunk of their revenue from China, fell in premarket trading. Micron Technology Inc, Intel Corp and Western Digital Corp declined between 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent.
Their shares rallied in previous session after Micron predicted a recovery in a memory market saddled with oversupply, as demand for mobile phones slows.
Nike Inc dropped 4.2 percent after the sportswear maker's quarterly revenue failed to beat Wall Street estimates, as sales fell short of expectations in North America, its biggest market.
At 6:43 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 116 points, or 0.45 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were down 11.75 points, or 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 27 points, or 0.36 percent.
Economic data on tap includes the U.S. Services Sector Final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which is likely to come in at 53.6 in March, compared with 53 in February. The report is due at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Another report at 10 a.m. ET is expected to show existing home sales rose to 5.1 million in February from 4.94 million in the previous month. (Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
