Stock futures fell Tuesday morning as tensions between the U.S. and China increased ahead of an expected visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dumped 167 points, or 0.5%, early Tuesday to 32,600.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 24 points, or 0.6%, to 4,096.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite sank 98.75 points, or 0.8%, to 12,863.75
Shares of Caterpillar are weighing on Dow futures after the company reported earnings that missed revenue expectations, sending the stock down more than 3% before the bell.
Pelosi was expected to visit Taiwan and spend Tuesday night there, Reuters reported, citing sources. Leading up to the trip, Chinese officials threatened to take action if Pelosi moved forward with the visit. Pelosi would become the first House Speaker since Newt Gingrich in 1997 to visit Taiwan.
Traders are also awaiting another raft of earnings from companies such as Starbucks, PayPal and Advanced Micro Devices.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 descended 1.4% Tuesday. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng slipped 2.4%
Oil prices lost five cents to $93.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked eight dollars to $1,795.70 U.S. an ounce.
