Futures fall as weak China data sparks slowdown fears

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday, taking cues from global markets, after weak economic data from China rekindled fears of an economic slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

China's central bank slashed key lending rates to revive demand as data showed the economy unexpectedly slowing in July, with factory and retail activity squeezed by Beijing's zero-COVID policy and a property crisis.

Megacap growth and technology stocks such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) slid 0.5% each in trading before the bell, while banks also edged lower after posting six straight weeks of gains.

Oil stocks Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Co and Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE:MRO) fell between 1.6% and 3.3% as crude prices tumbled on concerns over demand in China, the world's largest crude importer.

At 06:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 179 points, or 0.53%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 23.25 points, or 0.54%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 52.5 points, or 0.39%.

Wall Street has rallied over the last few weeks, with the benchmark S&P 500 index clawing back over half of its losses this year as optimism seeped back into markets following data that raised hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve can achieve a soft landing for the economy.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their fourth straight week of gains on Friday even as Fed officials pushed back on expectations that the central bank will end its rate hikes sooner than anticipated, and economists warned that inflation could return in the coming months.

Traders are seeing nearly equal odds of the Fed hiking rates by 50 basis points or 75 basis points in September.

Meanwhile, U.S.-listed shares of Canadian miner Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE:TRQ) Ltd plunged 26% on rejecting an offer by majority shareholder Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) Ltd to buy the 49% stake it doesn't already own for $2.7 billion.