US stocks futures tumble on expected debt panel defeat

NEW YORK, Nov 21: US stock index futures were sharply lower on Monday, extending the previous week's losses as a congressional "super committee" was expected to concede defeat in its bid to lower the deficit. The committee's co-chairs will issue a statement later Monday, declaring the bipartisan committee was unable to reach a deficit-reduction deal, according to sources, and had failed to bridge deep divides over taxes and spending. The developments add another degree of uncertainty to a market besieged by global headwinds, although the failure isn't expected to affect the country's credit rating. S&P 500 futures fell 18.6 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. -Reuters