Stock futures turn lower amid ruble, oil rout

U.S. markets, which were pointing higher in pre-market trading earlier Tuesday morning, have reversed course and are now trading down amid rising angst over plunging oil prices and Russia's currency.

In a sign of growing uncertainty on Wall Street over the fallout from plunging oil prices (West Texas Intermediate crude is down another 2.7% to $54.39 a barrel, a fresh 5 1/2 year low. But the big story of the morning is the continued plunge in Russia's ruble, which cratered as much as 17% vs. the U.S. dollar this morning to a record low, despite a surprise move late last night by Russia to hike interest rates to 17% from 10.5% in an attempt to stem capital flight from the country and stabilize their currency. But that move has not worked and appears to have shaken investors.

'The slide in oil continues to drive markets,' Barclays told clients in an early morning report. Russia, which gets the bulk of its revenue from energy exports, has been hit hard by the sharp slide in oil prices, which have been cut in half since their peak in late June. The falling price of oil puts Russia's currency in jeopardy. A falling currency in Russia is damaging, as it means consumers and the country itself has less purchasing power.

Futures prices in the Dow Jones industrial average went from up almost 80 points to down more than 100 points in a fast reversal in the past hour. The Dow kicks off the day having fallen six out of the past seven sessions since hitting a record high of 17,958.79 on Friday, Dec. 5. The Dow is down 4.3% from its peak.

Investors have moved to the perceived havens of gold and U.S. government bonds. An ounce of gold was up more than 1% to $1220.50 in early trading. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.04% from a close of 2.12% Monday.

Wall Street also is bracing for the latest decision on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, which kicks off a two-day meeting today. The Fed is expected to start hiking short-term interest rates next year but investors will want to hear what the Fed thinks about the impact of plunging oil prices and the brewing currency crisis on the U.S. and global economy, as well as its policy decisions.

European shares also reversed course. The German DAX, which was up nearly 0.8% earlier in today's session, is now down 1.1%. Stocks in France and the U.K. are also now in the red after a bullish start to the session.

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