* Congress pulls healthcare bill on Friday * Trump says to turn attention to tax cuts * Bank stocks, dollar drop; gold hits one-month high * Futures down: Dow 144 pts, S&P 19.75 pts, Nasdaq 40 pts (Adds details, comments, updates prices) By Yashaswini Swamynathan March 27 (Reuters) – Wall Street was set to open lower onMonday after the defeat of President Donald Trump’s healthcarereform bill cast doubts over his ability to deliver on hisagenda of tax cuts and simpler regulations. In a stunning setback, Congress controlled by Trump’sRepublican party pulled a bill to overhaul the Affordable CareAct, or Obamacare, on Friday. The bill was Trump’s first majorlegislative move since taking office in January. “The markets around the globe are falling as a rethinking ofthe ‘Trump Trade’ begins to focus on reality,” Peter Cardillo,chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York,wrote in a note. “While we don’t expect a full-blown correction to commenceat this time, we do see rising negative sentiment replacing the’Hope Trade’.” The dollar, which had found favor on the possibility of taxcuts and higher infrastructure spending, hit its lowest sinceNov. 11, while prices of safe-haven gold shot up to one-monthhighs. Banks, which had outperformed in the post-election rally onbets of simpler regulations and higher inflation, were downbetween 1.7 and 2.3 percent in premarket trading on Monday. Still, losses in futures appeared to be kept in check onTrump’s comment to turn his attention to getting “big tax cuts”through Congress. Dow e-minis were down 144 points, or 0.7 percent at8:25 a.m. ET (1225 GMT), with 41,266 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis were down 19.75 points, or 0.84percent, with 236,560 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 40 points, or 0.74percent, on volume of 43,598 contracts. Investors will look forward to comments from Chicago FederalReserve President Charles Evans and his Dallas counterpart,Robert Kaplan, for clues on the timing of the next interest ratehike. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak at a conferenceon Tuesday in Washington. Snap Inc was up 4.7 percent at $23.80 in premarkettrading on Monday after multiple brokerages began coverage onthe owner of Snapchat after the blackout period for its IPOunderwriters ended. Amazon.com was off 0.8 percent at $837.50 afterDubai’s Emaar Malls made an $800 million offer foronline retailer Souq.com. Amazon has agreed in principle to buySouq, according to sources. Steel stocks, including AK Steel and United States Steel, were down about 4 percent. Cal-Maine Foods slumped 9 percent to $34 after thecompany’s third-quarter sales missed analysts’ expectations. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing byAnil D’Silva)
