European stocks choppy, U.S futures fall after chaotic presidential debate

European stocks traded choppy and U.S. equity futures fell on the last trading day of the month and quarter, with investors rattled by U.S. politics after a messy presidential debate, and rising coronavirus cases.

Bouncing around, the Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.30  percent was last down 0.4 percent.

The index was poised for a gain of just 0.3 percent in the quarter, but around a 1.4 percent drop for September, the biggest monthly drop since March, according to Dow Jones Market data.

The German DAX DAX, -0.52 percent and the French CAC 40 PX1, -0.57 percent fell 0.5 percent, and the FTSE 100 UKX, -0.23 percent slipped 0.1 percent.

Trimming a deeper earlier loss, Dow futures YM00, -0.65 percent fell 200 points, with S&P 500 ES00, -0.53 percent and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, -0.63 percent dropping 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent each, respectively. Futures had risen into the debate, but then fell as it ended.

That follows Tuesday’s weaker finish on Wall Street.