Stock futures point to sharp losses for Wall Street

U.S. stock futures fell sharply in early trade on Monday, indicating Wall Street may carry on with heavy losses seen at the end of last week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 180 points, or 1.1%, to 15,951, while S&P 500 futures dropped 21.55 points, or 1.2%, to 1,853.50. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 55.75 points, or 1.4%, to 3,965.75. The losses come on the heels of the biggest weekly drop in a month for U.S. equities, with a 3.3% drop for the hard-hit Nasdaq Composite on Friday. Investors will be looking ahead to comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday and Thursday when she testifies to Congress about the economy and monetary policy. And while China's markets are closed this week for the Lunar New Year holiday, some investors might be watching data over the weekend that showed China's foreign currency reserves fell by nearly $100 billion, to the lowest level in more than three years. Oil prices erased an earlier lead, with WTI crude down 51 cents, or 1.7%, to $30.38 a barrel, and gold for April delivery rose $15.60, or 1.4%, to $1,173.40 an ounce.

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