U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as investors waited for a delayed inflation report to see whether persistent price pressures would affect the Federal Reserve's policy path.
The Commerce Department is expected to release the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index for September at 10 a.m. ET, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge and the first release since a recent 43-day government shutdown halted official data announcements.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 47 points, or 0.10%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 11.25 points, or 0.16% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 74 points, or 0.29%.
Pre-Market Movers
Rubrik - Rubrik surged 17.9% after the cybersecurity company posted a surprise profit in the third quarter. Adjusted earnings per share of 10 cents beat Wall Street estimates of a 17 cent loss.
Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery - Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry. Netflix shares dropped 2.7% in premarket trading, while Warner Bros. rose 1.3%.
SoFi Technologies - SoFi Technologies was falling 7.3% after the digital financial services platform announced anoffering of $1.5 billionin shares of its common stock. The fintech said it plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including enhancing its capital position and funding growth and business opportunities.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise - Hewlett Packard Enterprise fell 9% in premarket trading after the server and cloud-software company missed revenue expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter. Server revenue fell 5% to $4.46 billion in the quarter.
Ulta Beauty - Ulta Beauty rose 6.8% after its third quarter earnings convincingly beat expectations late Thursday. The beauty retailer reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.14, beating Wall Street’s consensus of $4.61.
Oracle - Oracle shares rose 2%. The company will hit the wires after the market closes on Wednesday. Analysts forecast Oracle’s total sales to grow by 15% to $16.2 billion, according to FactSet, powered by its cloud-based and AI-driven offerings. Its older, more outdated software isn’t really growing anymore, but the company is signing up new corporate customers for its highly efficient AI product. The cloud infrastructure segment grew 55% in the first quarter, and is expected to grow at a similar rate in the second quarter.
Oklo - Oklo shares fell 4.7% after disclosing it entered into an equity distribution agreement under which the company may offer and sell Class A common shares with aggregate gross sales proceeds of up to $1.5 billion through an at-the-market equity offering program.
Docusign - Docusign’s AI-powered IAM platform helped the electronic-signature platform provider’s third-quarter results beat estimates, though its shares slipped 6.9% as its outlook for the current quarter didn’t exceed analysts’ expectations.
Victoria's Secret - Shares of lingerie maker Victoria's Secret jumped 14.5% premarket. The company raised annual sales and profit forecast, betting on strong demand for its curated product assortment of iconic brands including Victoria's Secret and PINK.
Baidu - Kunlunxin, the AI chip unit of Chinese internet search giant Baidu, is planning an initial public offering in Hong Kong, having recently completed a fundraising that valued it at 21 billion yuan ($2.97 billion), three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. US-listed shares of Baidu jumped 5.1%.
Cooper Companies - Cooper Companies said it is initiating a formal strategic review aimed at identifying opportunities to enhance long-term shareholder value, sending shares up 13.2%.
SentinelOne - Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne forecast fourth-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations, and said Chief Financial Officer Barbara Larson will step down. The shares of the company fell 8.2%.
ChargePoint - EV charging network ChargePoint's Q3 revenue beat expectations. The shares jumped 10.1%.
ServiceTitan - ServiceTitan shares rose 8.9% after the vertical SaaS provider for trades professionals delivered better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and lifted its revenue guidance for the year. The company also posted double-digit year-over-year growth across several key operational metrics, underscoring strong adoption of its core software and FinTech suite.
Cloudflare - Cloudflare said on Friday it has fixed an issue with its dashboard related Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The outage had sent shares down 2% in premarket trading.
Critical Minerals Companies - Critical minerals companies shares gained again as US planned more stakes in minerals companies. Trilogy Metals, MP Materials, Albemarle, and Teck Resources, and Centrus rose 3%.
Market News
Netflix to Buy Warner Bros Discovery's Studios, Streaming Unit for $72 Billion
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
The agreement - announced on Friday - follows a weeks-long bidding war where Netflix seized the lead with a nearly $28-a-share offer that eclipsed Paramount Skydance's nearly $24 bid for the whole of Warner Bros Discovery, including the cable TV assets slated for a spinoff.
Warner Bros Discovery shares closed at $24.5 on Thursday, giving it a market value of $61 billion.
Hassett Says Fed Should Cut Rates, Predicts 25 Basis Points
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates at its meeting next week and predicted a reduction of 25 basis points as speculation grows that President Donald Trump is readying his nomination to lead the central bank.
Hassett, speaking in an interview on Fox News, was asked if he believed the Federal Open Market Committee would cut rates.
“I think we should, and I think that we are likely to,” Hassett said, pointing to recent communications from Fed governors and regional presidents. “They now seem much more like they’re leaning in the direction of a rate cut.”
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