Pre-Bell｜Futures Slip as Peak Rate Optimism Wanes; Alibaba Tumbled 8%

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Thursday as optimism around an end to the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes waned and a drop in shares of Cisco following a dour forecast further weighed on sentiment.

Market Snapshot

At 7:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 87 points, or 0.25%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 8.25 points, or 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 48 points, or 0.3%.

Pre-Market Movers

Alibaba (BABA) on Thursday reported quarterly profit that missed market expectations, and said it would not proceed with the full spin-off of its cloud intelligence group. Its U.S. shares fell over 8% in pre-market trading following the news.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates but the networking-equipment maker reduced its outlook for the fiscal year and the stock was tumbling 10.5%. The company said it expects adjusted profit for fiscal 2024 of $3.87 to $3.93 a share, down from a previous projection of $4.01 to $4.08 a share, and said it sees revenue of $53.8 billion to $55 billion, below its prior forecast of $57 billion to $58.2 billion. Cisco cited a slowdown in product orders.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its adjusted earnings outlook for the fiscal year, but the stock was falling 5.5% after the cybersecurity company reduced guidance for total billings. For fiscal 2024, Palo Alto said it expects billings of $10.7 billion to $10.8 billion, an increase of 16% to 17% from a year earlier but below consensus of $10.96 billion.

Maxeon Solar Technologies  (MAXN) reduced its revenue guidance for the fiscal year a second time and reported a third-quarter loss that wider than a year earlier. The stock fell 11%.

Walmart (WMT) sank 7.8% as the retailer struck a concerned tone on the outlook for US consumers after signs of weakness at the end of October. In the fiscal third quarter, Walmart’s net income rose to $453 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.8 billion, or 66 cents per share, in the year ago period. Walmart posted a loss in that quarter due to a settlement after opioid-related legal charges. Revenue rose from $152.81 billion in the year-ago period.

Macy’s (M) on Thursday topped Wall Street’s quarterly expectations, as inventory and margin improvement helped offset an 7% year-over-year decline in sales. The department store chain’s shares popped 10.5% in premarket trading.

Catalent (CTLT) was rising 1.8% to $40.27. Shares of the drug manufacturer were upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, which said the stock’s valuation was attractive, the Fly reported. Catalent rose 11% on Wednesday after reporting a fiscal first-quarter loss of $3.94 a share and a decline in revenue.

Market News

Jack Ma's Family Trust to Sell 10 Mln Shares in China's Alibaba

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma's family trust is set to sell 10 million American Depository Shares of Alibaba Group Holdings, for about $871 million, the ecommerce company said in regulatory filings.

The sale will be done on Nov. 21 by JSP Investment and JC Properties, funds that are part of the family trust.

Eli Lilly Plans to Invest 2 Bln Euros in New German Plant -Source

U.S. pharma company Eli Lilly plans to invest 2 billion euros ($2.17 billion) in a new plant in Alzey, western Germany, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday.

Separately, people familiar with the plans told Reuters that at least 1,000 jobs would be created.

NetEase Non-GAAP EPADS of $1.84 Beats by $0.37, Revenue of $3.7B Misses by $80M

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES): Q3 Non-GAAP EPADS of $1.84 beats by $0.37. Revenue of $3.7B (+11.6% Y/Y) misses by $80M.

The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2023 was 14.2%, compared with 8.0% and 19.3% for the preceding quarter and the third quarter of 2022, respectively.