U.S. stock index futures slid on Monday, with banks and travel stocks falling the most as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia pushed Brent to over $130 a barrel and added to concerns over spiraling inflation and slowing economic growth.
Market Snapshot
At 08:05 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 332 points, or 0.99%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 38.75 points, or 0.9%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 130 points, or 0.94%.
Pre-Market Movers
Chevron, Exxon, Phillips 66 — Oil stocks rose broadly in premarket trading after energy prices surged overnight, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude briefly breaking above $130 per barrel. Shares of Chevron and Exxon Mobil each rose more than 1%, while Phillips 66 climbed 3.4%. ConocoPhillips rose nearly 2%, while Baker Hughes jumped 4%.
Bed Bath & Beyond — Shares of the home goods retailer more than double in premarket trading Monday after GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen revealed he had a nearly 10% stake in the retailer through his investment company RC Ventures. Cohen said the company should explore selling itself to private equity and spinning off its BuyBuy Baby chain.
Archer-Daniels-Midland — Shares of the agricultural company jumped 3.9% premarket as crop prices jumped amid supply concerns due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Visa, Mastercard — The payments stocks dipped in premarket trading after both companies announced over the weekend that they were suspending operations in Russia. Visa’s stock shed 2.2%, while Mastercard was down 1.7%.
Occidental Petroleum — Shares of the oil and gas company jumped 8% after a regulatory filing showed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its stake recently. The conglomerate bought more than 61 million of Occidental shares from Wednesday to Friday, at prices ranging from $47.07 to $56.45. Berkshire now owns 91.2 million common shares of the oil giant.
Whiting Petroleum, Oasis Petroleum — Shares of Whiting and Oasis moved higher in premarket trading after the companies announced a merger agreement. The new company, with an estimated enterprise value of about $6 billion, will be 53% owned by Whiting shareholders and 47% by Oasis shareholders, according to a press release. Whiting’s stock rose 4.9%, while Oasis jumped more than 6%.
Citigroup — The bank stock dropped 2.8% in premarket trading, underperforming its peers, after receiving a downgrade from Jefferies. The firm said Citi appeared unlikely to hit the financial targets detailed at an investor conference last week.
Market News
Oil soared -- nearing $140 a barrel earlier -- as shock waves rippled through the market after the U.S. said it was considering a ban on Russian crude imports.
Gold prices rose above $2,000 per ounce, palladium hit a record, LME 3-month nickel posted its largest ever one-day gain, and oil and wheat jumped to 14-year highs as Russia's escalating invasion of Ukraine continued to roil global commodities.
U.S. shale oil and gas producers Oasis Petroleum Inc and Whiting Petroleum Corp are close to agreeing an all-stock merger that could be announced as soon as this week, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. shares rallied in premarket trading Monday after Ryan Cohen’s investment firm RC Ventures disclosed a 9.8% stake in the retailer and asked that it consider a sale of the whole company.
Grab faces possible class action suits from US shareholder rights law firms. Pomerantz Law Firm wants to investigate "whether Grab and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices." Johnson Fistel's investigation will "focus on investors' losses and whether they may be recovered under the federal securities laws."
Carl Icahn exited a big bet on Occidental Petroleum Corp. , selling the last of what was once a roughly 10% stake in the oil-and-gas producer as its shares surge.
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