U.S. stock index futures were muted on Tuesday after the S&P and the Nasdaq notched record high levels in the last session, with focus on a crucial jobs report later this week along with more data and commentary from Federal Reserve officials.
Market Snapshot
At 7:45 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 11 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 4.75 points, or 0.02%.
Pre-Market Movers
Shares of Janux Therapeutics, Inc. surged 68% after its prostate cancer treatment was selected for expansion trials following what it called encouraging efficacy and safety results.
Zscaler reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings, revenue, and billings but revenue guidance for the second quarter of $634 million at the midpoint just edged out estimates of $633 million and sent shares of the cybersecurity company down 7.2% in premarket trading. Zscaler said it anticipates second-quarter adjusted earnings of 68 cents to 69 cents a share versus estimates of 68 cents.
Super Micro Computer, the artificial-intelligence server maker,was rising 4.6% following a jump of 29% on Monday after an independent committee said an internal probe into why its auditor quit, forcing it to delay earnings, found no evidence of fraud or misconduct. Coming into Tuesday, the stock remained 4% lower than it was three months ago but has risen 61% in the past month.
Tesla declined 0.8% after a Delaware judge rejected Elon Musk’s pay package for a second time. The court’s decision came after a second shareholder vote designed to address the judge’s problems with the first vote. The second vote was needed after Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick in January voided Musk’s 2018 pay package awarding him some 300 million options. “The court’s decision is wrong, and we’re going to appeal,” Tesla posted on social-media platform X.
United States Steel was falling 8.4% after President-elect Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform,pledged to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of the Pittsburgh steel company. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump said.
Honeywell International fell 1.9% aftercutting its full-year outlookfollowing the signing of a strategic agreement with Bombardier. Honeywell said it expects revenue in 2024 of between $38.2 billion and $38.4 billion, down from between $36.8 billion and $38.8 billion, and adjusted profit of $9.68 and $9.78 a share, lower than previous guidance of $10.15 to $10.25. The agreement to supply advanced avionics, propulsion, and satellite communications technologies for Bombardier’s aircraft, Honeywell estimated, could provide revenue of up to $17 billion.
Credo Technology Group, the data infrastructure networking company, jumped 32% after posting fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ estimates and saying it expects third-quarter revenue of between $115 million and $125 million, higher than consensus of $86 million.
Microchip Technology declined 1.5% after the provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions said it would be cutting about 500 jobs after turns orders were slower than anticipated. Microchip said fiscal third-quarter revenue would be close to the low end of its previous guidance between $1.025 billion to $1.095 billion. The company also said with “inventory levels high and having ample capacity in place,” it will be shutting down its wafer fabrication facility in Tempe, Ariz.
Bitcoin miner CleanSpark fell 8.1% after reporting a fiscal 2024 loss of 69 cents a share, wider than analysts’ estimates that called for a loss of 49 cents, according to FactSet, and revenue of $379 million that also missed forecasts.
AT&T rose 3.3%. Ahead of the wireless carrier’s investor day, AT&T saidwould return more than $40 billionin dividends and stock buybacks to shareholders over the next three years. AT&T is expected to detail its strategy for expanding fiber and 5G services to more than 50 million customers by 2029, with CEO John Stankey hailing the company’s “durable and profitable subscriber growth” in a statement ahead of the event.
Marvell was up 1.6% ahead of third-quarter earnings from the chip maker. Investors expect spending by the company on artificial intelligence will boost chip sales in the period.
Market News
Art Cashin, New York Stock Exchange fixture for decades, dies at age 83
Art Cashin, UBS’ director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange and a man The Washington Post called “Wall Street’s version of Walter Cronkite,” has died. He was 83 and had been a regular on CNBC for more than 25 years.
In the intensely competitive and often vicious world of stock market commentary, Cashin was that rarest of creatures: a man respected by all, bulls and bears, liberals and conservatives alike. He seemed to have almost no enemies.
BlackRock targets private credit growth with $12 bln HPS acquisition
BlackRock will buy private credit firm HPS Investment Partners for about $12 billion in an all-stock deal, the companies said on Tuesday, as the world's largest asset manager seeks to expand in a red-hot market.
Private credit, or lending to companies by institutions other than banks, has grown rapidly in recent years as stricter regulations made it more expensive for traditional lenders to finance riskier loans.
