US stock futures point to decline, as investors await comments from Fed officials

On Monday U.S. stock futures pointed to a slight pullback after last week's solid gains, with investors watching for comments from Federal Reserve members and waiting for the latest health check on the housing sector.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36 points, or 0.2%, to 17,997, while those for the S&P 500 lost 4.45 points, or 0.2%, to 2,094.75. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 dropped 7.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,440.00, says MarketWatch.

The slump comes after a volatile week, when the big mood fluctuations in the market were fueled by fresh comments from the Federal Reserve about raising interest rates. The central bank said it is in no hurry to tighten policy dropping the word "patient" out of its vocabulary.

The Dow average and S&P 500 index registered their biggest weekly gains since early February, while the Nasdaq-100 index mustered its biggest rally since October last year.

Fed comments

On Monday St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told CNBC that the dovish statement from last week may have misplaced investor expectations about the first rate hike. He also said the market could throw another “tantrum” with the Fed possibly raising rates later this year.

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester was speaking in Paris this morning. Mester, who isn’t a voting member of the policy-setting committee this year, said the central bank can do more at helping guide the market in terms of rate moves.

At 12:20 p.m. Eastern Time, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer gives a speech about “monetary policy lessons and the way ahead” to the Economic Club of New York.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams speaks in Sydney, Australia at 10 p.m. Eastern. Fisher and Williams are both voting members of the FOMC.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time markets expect the Chicago Fed national activity index for February, followed by existing-home sales at 10 a.m. EST. Analysts polled by MarketWatch expect an annualized rate of 4.94 million home sales in February, up from 4.82 million in January, which was the lowest level in nine months.

Other markets

Crude oil dropped steeply, paring back after scoring its first weekly gain in five weeks.

Metals were also mostly lower, although high-grade copper shrugged off the negative trend. The ICE dollar index fell to 97.62.

Stock markets in Europe dipped, with investors waiting for the latest developments in Greece’s reform negotiations. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Monday, while Asian markets closed mostly higher.