Pre-Bell|U.S. Stock Futures Rebound; Takeover Talks Boost VMware

Tiger Newspress2022-05-23

Wall Street futures rose on Monday, helped by a bounce in growth stocks and banks, after the benchmark S&P 500 hovered near a grim market milestone at the end of last week.

Investors will keep a close eye on the slew of economic data expected this week that could shed new light on the health of U.S. economy against the backdrop of a steep selloff in stocks since January.

Market Snapshot

At 07:45 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 304 points, or 0.97%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 39.75 points, or 1.02%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 96.75 points, or 0.82%.

Pre-Market Movers

Electronic Arts (EA) – The video game maker’s shares rose 3.3% in the premarket after Puck News reported that the company was actively seeking a buyer or merger partner. EA has reportedly held talks with Walt Disney (DIS), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), among others.

Xpeng (XPEV) – Chinese electric-vehicle maker Xpeng Inc. reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as supply-chain snarls and surging materials costs squeeze margins. Xpeng shares trimmed their losses to 0.4% from 4% in premarket trading.

VMWare (VMW) – The cloud computing company’s stock surged 22.7% in premarket trading following multiple reports that it is in advanced talks to be bought by chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO). The two companies are said to be discussing a cash-and-stock deal which could happen soon, according to people familiar with the matter. Broadcom slid 4.7%.

GameStop (GME) – GameStop jumped 2.2% in premarket trading after the video game retailer launched a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

HP Inc. (HPQ) – The computer and printer maker was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” at Citi, based on moderating demand for PCs in the near to mid-term. HP fell 2.9% in premarket action.

Pfizer (PFE) – Pfizer and partner BioNTech (BNTX) said three doses of their Covid-19 vaccine offered strong protection for children under 5, according to preliminary data. BioNTech rose 1.9% in premarket trading, while Pfizer edged higher by 0.6%.

Motorola Solutions (MSI) – Morgan Stanley upgraded the communications equipment and software company’s stock to “overweight” from “equal-weight,” with a number of favorable trends in place including an increase in demand for video surveillance. Motorola Solutions gained 2.5% in the premarket.

Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) – The biopharma company’s stock rallied 9.7% in premarket trading, amid the increasing concerns about the spread of monkeypox. Emergent is a supplier of smallpox vaccine, which can be used as protection against monkeypox.

Autodesk (ADSK) – The design software company’s stock fell 3.7% in premarket action after RBC cut its price target on the stock to $255 per share from $295 a share. RBC said Street earnings consensus may be too high and that Autodesk needs to establish consistency in its results to increase investor confidence.

Boeing (BA) – Boeing rose 1% in premarket trading after its Starliner spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station over the weekend.

Corning (GLW) – The materials science company’s stock slid 2.9% in the premarket after Citi downgraded it to “neutral” from “buy,” citing lower PC and tablet demand impacting Corning’s optical components business. Citi also notes uncertainty about demand recovery for premium and large-size televisions.

Market News

Biden Says Weighs Reducing Tariffs on China, Asking OPEC to Pump More Oil

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was weighing cutting tariffs on Chinese goods while increasing calls on OPEC to raise oil production as he grappled with a politically damaging wave of inflation.

"I am considering it. We did not impose any of those tariffs. They were imposed by the last administration and they're under consideration," Biden said on reducing tariffs on China.

Broadcom in Advanced Talks to Buy VMware

Broadcom Inc. is in advanced talks to buy VMware Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for what would be one of the year’s biggest deals.

The technology companies are discussing a cash-and-stock deal that could come soon, assuming the talks don’t fall apart, the people said. VMware has a market value of $40 billion, while Broadcom’s is around $222 billion.

The deal discussions, which picked up pace in recent days, come roughly six months after computing pioneer Dell Technologies Inc. spun off its 81% equity stake in VMware.

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