U.S. stock index futures edged down on the final trading day of a roller-coaster year marked by aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve, the Russia-Ukraine war and fears of an impending recession.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 111 points, or 0.33%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 17.25 points, or 0.45%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 68.5 points, or 0.62%.
Pre-Market Movers
Tesla - The electric-vehicle maker's shares fell about 1.64% before the opening bell, reversing earlier gains. Tesla stock has endured a rollercoaster month of trading, and is on pace to end 2022 as the worst performer among major S&P 500 stocks.
Palantir - The data-analysis company's stock drifted 1.6% lower before the opening bell, putting it on pace to extend a recent run of losses. Palantir stock has fallen 15% this month through Thursday, versus a 5.7% decline for the S&P 500.
Shaw Communications – Canada’s Competition Tribunal dismissed an attempt by the country’s competition watchdog to block the $26 billion acquisition of the telecom company by rivalRogers Communications(RCI). Shaw surged 10.1% in the premarket, while Rogers gained 0.4%.
Li Auto – Li Auto said it expected to deliver more than 20,000 of its electric vehicles this month, higher than the 14,087 the China-based EV maker delivered in December 2021.
Southwest Airlines – Southwest said it planned to return to aregular flight scheduleFriday and promised to reimburse customers for any reasonable expenses they incurred due to the airline canceling thousands of flights over the past week.
Audacy - Audacy stock rallied 9.7% in the premarket after the small-cap radio station operator said it will auction off the radio.com internet domain with a reported minimum bid of $2.5 million.
Mesa Air Group – The regional air carrier reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue that fell short of analyst estimates. Mesa shares fell 3% in premarket trading.
Enovix – The lithium-ion battery manufacturer appointed Raj Talluri as its chief executive officer, effective January 18. Talluri was senior vice president and general manager ofMicron Technology’s (MU) mobile business unit. Enovix jumped 5.1% in premarket action.
Market News
Merck COVID-19 Therapy Granted Emergency Nod in China
China has issued the emergency use authorization for molnupiravir, an oral COVID-19 therapy developed by Merck (NYSE:MRK) in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus infections after easing its strict zero COVID policy.
The antiviral branded Lagevrio has been granted conditional emergency approval to treat mild and moderate COVID-19 among adults at risk of progressing to severe disease, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) said Friday.
Baidu starts testing autonomous vehicles with no safety operator in Beijing
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) said on Friday that it had been granted the first license in Beijing to test an autonomous vehicle with safety operator as a backup.
In an email obtained by Seeking Alpha, Baidu (BIDU) said the move would pave the way for a paid, fully driverless robotaxi service in China's capital after seeing success in Wuhan and Chongqing.
Guggenheim trims Tesla targets on tax credit, China demand concerns
Guggenheim reined in estimates for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) as fewer models than expected are due to qualify for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The IRS released new guidelines for vehicles qualifying forthe $7,500 tax credit on Thursday. The terms of the tax credit include specifications that vehicles must be assembled in North America and sets price caps on qualifying cars and SUVs. For the former, $55K is the max MSRP while SUV MSRPs are allowed to extend to $80K.
Faraday Future Stock Surges on Board Shift, Production Update
Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (NASDAQ:FFIE) shares rose in premarket trading as the company shook up its board and reiterated production targets.
The California-based EV startup announced on Friday that Xuefeng Chen, who wasnamedCEO at the close of November, and former Yudo Auto CFO Ke Sun have taken seats on the board as of Tuesday. The company said that former CEO Dr. Carsten Breitfeld and former Barclays executive Edwin Goh both stepped down from the Board effective as of December 26 to allow for the two additions.
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