U.S. stock futures rose Friday after China said it would ease some Covid measures, building on optimism from lighter-than-feared inflation data that fueled a broad market rally in the previous session.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 156 points, or 0.46%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 19.25 points, or 0.49%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 63 points, or 0.54%.
Pre-Market Movers
Walgreens Boots Alliance – The pharmacy chain operator’s stock added 1.5% in the premarket after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold. Following a recent meeting with management, the firm said it is increasingly confident in Walgreens’ strategy to transition to a healthcare services company.
Intel – The chip maker’s stock was rated underweight in resumed coverage at JPMorgan Chase following a restriction period, compared with its most recent rating of underweight. JPMorgan said Intel will participate in an overall industry rebound, but at a slower pace due to competitive pressures. Intel fell 2% in premarket action.
U.S. Bancorp – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has sold more than 91 million shares of US Bancorp since the start of the year, according to a regulatory filing. Berkshire now owns just over 53 million shares, a 3.6% stake.
Wynn, Las Vegas Sands – Shares of the casino operators rose after China eased Covid-19 restrictions. Wynn rose 3.4% in the premarket while Las Vegas Sands jumped 3.6%.
Doximity, Inc. – Doximity surged 21.1% in premarket trading after the online platform for medical professionals reported better-than-expected quarterly results and announced a new share repurchase program.
Duolingo, Inc. – Duolingo shares fell 3.2% in the premarket after reporting revenue for its most recent quarter fell slightly short of analyst forecasts. The provider of online language classes also reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and increased its full-year revenue outlook.
LegalZoom.com, Inc – LegalZoom rallied 15.4% in premarket action following better-than-expected quarterly results from the online provider of legal documents and advice. LegalZoom reported a quarterly loss that was smaller than analysts had anticipated and raised its full-year revenue forecast.
Beazer Homes USA – Beazer rose 1.6% in premarket trading after its quarterly earnings and revenue came in above Wall Street consensus. Beazer benefited from gains in both home prices and profit margins.
Market News
China reduced the amount of time travelers and close contacts of infected people must spend in quarantine, a significant calibration of the Covid Zero policy.
Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett, said on Thursday it has shed more than 91 million U.S. Bancorp shares since the start of the year, reducing its stake in the fifth-largest U.S. bank by 63%.
AMD launched its latest data center chip on Thursday and said Microsoft Corp's Azure, Alphabet-owned Google Cloud and Oracle Corp would be some of its customers. The fourth generation EPYC processor, code named "Genoa", makes significant improvement on performance and energy efficiency compared with its previous chip, said Chief Executive Lisa Su.
ASML Holding NV said it would launch a 12 billion euro ($12.2 billion) share buyback programme to run through 2025on Thursday.
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, laid out a dire financial forecast late Thursday, saying the social-media company could lose billions of dollars and that bankruptcy cannot be ruled out, according to multiple reports.
Coinbase Global, Inc. cut over 60 jobs in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams, a spokesperson said on Thursday, at a time when pummeled digital coins risk another contagion in the sector and bigger rival FTX inches closer to a collapse.
Japan's Softbank Group Corp announced a hefty loss at its Vision Fund investment arm for the third straight quarter, even as the company itself posted its first quarterly profit in as many quarters.
TuSimple Holdings Inc.'s former chief executive Cheng Lu is returning to the role, days after the self-driving trucking company fired his predecessor following an internal probe that showed some employees had ties and shared information with a China-backed firm.
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