Futures tracking U.S. stock indexes were largely muted after Walt Disney slipped following second-quarter results, while expectations of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts this year lent support to the market.
Walt Disney fell 6.2% in premarket trading, as a surprise profit in its streaming entertainment division was eclipsed by a drop in its traditional TV business and weaker box office.
Market Snapshot
At 8:20 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 29 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.25 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 28 points, or 0.15%.
Pre-Market Movers
Palantir Technologies reported first-quarter earnings that were better than expected on a revenue jump of 21% to $634 million as the data analytics software company continued to gain traction with its artificial intelligence tools, particularly with U.S. commercial customers. Palantir said it expects revenue in the second quarter of between $649 million and $653 million, ahead of analysts’ consensus of $643 million, and adjusted operating income in the period of of between $209 million and $213 million, above Wall Street expectations of $201 million. The stock was falling12% in premarket trading. The stock closed 8.1% higher on Monday ahead of the earnings release.
First-quarter losses at Lucid Group narrowed from a year earlier and sales at the electric-vehicle maker rose 21% to $173 million. About 30% of those sales, however, came from the Saudi government. Saudi government funds own a majority of Lucid stock.Lucid produced 1,728 vehicles in the quarter, an increase of 40% from a year earlier, and said it still expects to make 9,000 units in 2024. The stock was down 8.2% in premarket trading. It closed Monday with a gain of 9.5%.
Rivian shares rallied 7.18% in premarket trading. Earlier this year, Apple canceled its decade-long Project Titan electric car initiative, but a new report from DigiTimes says that Apple’s electric vehicle ambitions might not be over. According to the story, Apple is “assessing the possibility of teaming up with a certain US EV startup, and Rivian is a very likely candidate.”
Shares of Boeing were down 0.4% in premarket trading after the first crewed launch of the company’s Starliner spacecraft was scrubbed two hours before its scheduled liftoff. The launch was postponed because of a problem with an oxygen relief valve on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday opened an investigation into inspection documentation for Boeing’s 787 jets.
U.S.-listed shares of BP were falling 2.2% after the British oil giant reported first-quarter underlying replacement-cost profit of $2.72 billion, down from $4.96 billion in the year-earlier period and below company-compiled forecasts of $2.87 billion. Mainly to blame were lower oil and gas prices and thinner margins.
UBS Group was rising 9% after the Swiss bank swung to a profit in the first quarter, getting a boost from its ongoing takeover of rival Credit Suisse. Net profit in the first quarter was $1.755 billion, well ahead of forecasts.
Hims & Hers Health was rising 14% after the online wellness platform raised its full-year sales forecast as subscribers in the first quarter rose 41% from a year earlier to 1.7 million.
Datadog reported better-than-anticipated first-quarter earnings but shares of the cloud-monitoring company were falling 11%.
Microchip Technology fell 2.8% after saying it expects first-quarter revenue of between $1.22 billion and $1.26 billion, below analysts’ estimates of $1.34 billion, and adjusted earnings of between 48 cents and 56 cents a share, below expectations of 58 cents.
Market News
Apple’s "Special Event" Is Expected to Bring New iPads
Apple is expected to take action to bolster sagging sales of iPads, offering new versions of the devices at a “special event” scheduled for Tuesday morning.
The virtual event will be livestreamed from Apple’s website starting at 10 a.m. Eastern, or 7 a.m. Pacific, three hours earlier than most other Apple product-launch events.
Apple news sites such as MacRumors and 9to5Mac report that the company is expected to launch new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, along with updates to the Pencil and the Magic Keyboard accessory that attaches to iPads to make them more like laptops.
JPMorgan Starts New Round of Investment-Banking Job Cuts in Asia
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has started a new round of layoffs in Asia, cutting at least seven more investment-banking jobs, according to people familiar with the matter.
The New York-based bank initiated the reductions this week, impacting mostly staff at vice president and associate levels in sectors including consumer, energy and health care, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.
Rivals including Morgan Stanley, HSBC Holdings Plc, UBS Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have also cut jobs at their Asia investment-banking units over the past couple of years, as deal flows in China and Hong Kong dry up due to factors such as the sluggish economy and persisting political risks.
