U.S. stock index futures dipped on Monday, pressured by rising Treasury yields, as investors turned cautious on the timing of interest rate cuts while awaiting more quarterly reports from corporate America.
Market Snapshot
At 7:49 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 53 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 6.75 points, or 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 9.5 points, or 0.05%.
Pre-Market Movers
Boeing said it would have to rework about 50 undelivered 737 MAX jets after supplier Spirit AeroSystems found two misdrilled holes on some fuselages. Boeing said the issue could delay some near-term 737 deliveries but that the “potential condition is not an immediate flight safety issue” and all 737s can continue flying. It’s the latest production problem for Boeing since a door plug blew out on a 737 MAX 9 jet flown by Alaska Airlines, leading to an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, last month. Boeing shares were down 2.2%, while Spirit AeroSystems fell 3.3%.
Drug manufacturer Catalent was rising 12% to $60.78 after agreeing to be acquired by Novo Holdings for $63.50 a share in cash, a 16.5% premium to Catalent’s closing price of $54.51 on Friday. The transaction values Catalent at $16.5 billion on an enterprise-value basis. Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk.
Meta Platforms fell 0.2% after shares of the parent company of Facebook and Instagram surged 20% on Friday to a closing record of $474.99 following an outlook that surpassed Wall Street expectations and an announcement that it planned for its first-ever dividend. Meta added $204.5 billion in market value on Friday, the biggest one-day gain by any U.S. company in history.
Nvidia, meanwhile, set a record intraday high of $666 on Friday, and a closing record of $661.60. Driving the gains were continued high demand for Nvidia’s graphics-processing-units for training artificial-intelligence systems. Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.com reported strong earnings last week and said they were committed to further AI investments. Nvidia was up 3.5% to $684.52.
Palantir Technologies is expected by analysts to report fourth-quarter adjusted earnings after the closing bell Monday of 8 cents a share on revenue of $603 million. The provider of data analytics software also has made a big bet on artificial intelligence. The stock was rising 2.8% ahead of the earnings report.
Caterpillar rose 4.1% after the heavy-machinery maker reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Operating profit margin in the period improved to 18.4% from 10.1%.
Shares of McDonald’s were up slightly in premarket trading after the fast-food giant reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street estimates and same-store sales below forecasts as the company felt the impact of the war in the Middle East.
Estee Lauder was rising 16% after the beauty-products company reported fiscal second-quarter profit that beat expectations. Estee Lauder posted adjusted profit of 88 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates of 54 cents. The company said it expects double-digit percentage organic sales growth in the second half of its fiscal year.
Tyson Foods beat market expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit on Monday, in first signs demand for its meat products is beginning to recover as inflation concerns ease. Tyson shares rose 3.8% on the news.
Elanco Animal Health Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell its aqua business to Merck Animal Health $(MRK)$ for $1.3 billion in cash. Greenfield, Ind.-based Elanco said the sum is equal to about 7.4 times the estimated 2023 revenue of the Elanco aqua business, which includes products across warm-water and cold-water species such as salmon vaccines. Elanco's stock was up 5.9% premarket.
Earnings reports are expected later in the week from Eli Lilly, Amgen, Ford Motor, BP, Alibaba, Walt Disney, Spotify Technology, Uber, CVS Health, PayPal, Philip Morris, ConocoPhillips, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Expedia, Take-Two Interactive, and PepsiCo.
Market News
Zuckerberg Climbs to No. 4 on the Billionaire List, Thanks to Meta's Surge
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now the fourth richest person in the world following a surge in Meta's share price that has increased his net worth more than any other individual this year.
In 2024 so far, Zuckerberg's fortune has climbed by $42.4 billion, which has vaulted him to fourth place on Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. He has now overtaken Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who dropped to fifth-wealthiest billionaire.
Samsung Billionaire Jay Y. Lee Acquitted by Court on Stock Manipulation Charges
Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee scored an important victory Monday after a Seoul court acquitted him of stock manipulation charges, allowing the billionaire to keep leading a conglomerate under threat from rivals old and new.
The acquittal lifts a weight off the world’s largest maker of memory chips and displays, which is struggling with a global downturn and a stiff challenge from Apple Inc. in smartphones and SK Hynix Inc. in the nascent field of AI. The surprise decision finally removes the threat of jail time that’s dogged one of Korea’s most prominent businesspeople for years.
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