Futures dive on flu outbreak

Stocks set to tumble at open as investors worldwide worry about economic fallout of swine flu outbreak.

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures sank Monday as investors worried about the economic impact of a global swine flu outbreak.





At 4:58 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nadaq 100 futures were sharply lower.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

Swine flu outbreak: The World Health Organization has called the outbreak of swine flu a "public health emergency of international concern."

Mexico seems to be the center of the outbreak, although cases have spread to countries around the world.

As many as 103 deaths in Mexico are thought to have been caused by swine flu, CNN reported. In the United States, the largest number of cases has been reported in New York City.

World markets: Concerns about the economic fallout of the outbreak pressured airline and hotel stocks in overseas trading.

Most Asian shares tumbled, although Japan's Nikkei finished the session with slight gains. Major European markets were all lower in morning trading.

Autos: Chrysler reached a tentative labor agreement with the United Auto Workers -- a key step in final efforts to help the automaker avoid bankruptcy. The UAW announced the deal Sunday.

Meanwhile, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) is due to provide an update on the company's turnaround plan. CEO Fritz Henderson is set to announce changes at 9 a.m. ET.

Oil and money: Oil prices tumbled, with U.S. light crude for June delivery falling $2.11 to $49.44 a barrel in electronic trading.

The dollar edged higher against the euro and was down slightly versus the yen.