Wall Street futures fell on Monday, with rate-sensitive technology and growth stocks leading the declines as investors worried that another massive interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve could tip the U.S. economy into a recession.
Heavyweights Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Tesla Inc and Nvidia Corp fell about 1% in premarket trading.
Focus will also be on new economic projections, due to be published alongside the policy statement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday.
The CBOE volatility index(.VIX), also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose to 27.88 points, inching closer to a more than two-month high.
Market Snapshot
At 7:55 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 251 points, or 0.81%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 33.25 points, or 0.85%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 109 points, or 0.91%.
Pre-Market Movers
AutoZone (AZO) – AutoZone gained 2.3% in premarket action after the auto parts retailer reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for its latest quarter. AutoZone's same-store sales rose 6.2% compared to a year ago, twice what analysts had predicted amid continued strength in its commercial business.
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) – Take-Two shares slid 5.6% in the premarket after Bloomberg reported that a hacker released gameplay from its upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV game online. It's said to be one of the biggest leaks in gaming history.
bluebird bio (BLUE) – bluebird bio rallied 6.6% in premarket trading after the Food and Drug Administration approved the company's gene therapy for a rare and lethal brain disease in children.
Wix (WIX) – Wix shares jumped 6% in premarket action after activist investor Starboard Value revealed a 9% stake in the web development platform company.
Coinbase (COIN) – Coinbase fell 4.8% in the premarket, as multimonth lows for cryptocurrencies weigh on sentiment for the crypto exchange operator and other crypto-related stocks. MicroStrategy (MSTR) – the business analytics company which has billions in bitcoin on its balance sheet – also fell, down 5%.
FedEx (FDX) – FedEx remains on watch after plunging 21.4% in Friday's trading following an earnings warning, its biggest-ever one-day decline.
NCR (NCR) – NCR slid another 2.2% in the premarket on top of a 20.3% plunge Friday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "equal-weight" from "overweight." The Friday decline followed news that NCR would separate into two separate companies, and Morgan Stanley said any unlocking of value from that move may take a long time to play out.
Adobe (ADBE) – Wells Fargo downgraded the software company's stock to "equal weight" from "overweight," saying Adobe's planned acquisition of online design firm Figma is a good product fit but that the $20 billion price tag leaves little room for error. Adobe fell 1.3% in premarket trading after falling 16.8% last Thursday and another 3.1% on Friday.
Theravance Biopharma (TBPH) – Theravance has initiated a $250 million stock buyback program. As part of that program, it will buy the 9.6 million shares held by pharmaceutical companyGSK(GSK). Theravance added 3.2% in the premarket.
KnowBe4 (KNBE) – KnowBe4, Inc today confirmed the receipt of a non-binding proposal from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”) to acquire all outstanding shares of the Company for $24 per share in cash. The proposal represents a 39% premium to KnowBe4’s closing price on September 16, 2022. KnowBe4 shares jumped 24.3% in premarket trading.
Market News
Britain Holds State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral took place at Westminster Abbey as Britain concludes its farewell to its longest-serving monarch.
The funeral began at 6 a.m. ET and included readings by Prime Minister Liz Truss and the secretary general of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland. The Archbishop of Canterbury used his sermon to praise the queen's servant leadership.
The service was attended by a host of world leaders, including President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Emperor Naruhito.
Bitcoin Falls Below $19,000 As Cryptos Creak Under Rate Hike Risk
Cryptocurrencies fell to fresh lows on Monday on regulatory concerns and as investors globally turned shy on risky assets with interest rate rises looming around the world.
Bitcoin , the biggest cryptocurrency by market value, fell about 5% to a three-month low of $18,387.
Ether , the second largest cryptocurrency, dropped 3% to a two-month low of $1,285 and is down more than 10% in the last 24 hours. Most other smaller tokens were deeper in the red.
VW Prices Porsche IPO, Valuing Car Maker at Up to $78 Billion
Porsche AG shares will begin trading on Sept. 29 in one of the largest European public listings in years, raising up to $9.4 billion and valuing the sports car maker at as much as $78 billion.
Porsche’s parent, German car giant Volkswagen AG, priced the public offering of preferred stock in line with average analyst expectations. Combined with a private sale of Porsche ordinary stock to VW’s largest investor, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, the sale of 25% of Porsche could raise €19.5 billion for VW, the equivalent of $19.5 billion.