U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as investors picked up beaten-down stocks ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony that may offer fresh insight on policy tightening and the central bank's plans to tackle inflation.
At 8:00 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 27 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 7.5 points, or 0.16% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 37.75 points, or 0.24%.
Megacap growth companies including Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc , Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc and Tesla Inc rose up to 1% in premarket trading.
Marko Kolanovic, chief global markets strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co, called the recent pull-back in riskier assets "arguably overdone" and said it presented investors with a buying opportunity.
Powell is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m ET for consideration for a second four-year term as head of the Fed, while Lael Brainard is set to appear before the same panel on Thursday for promotion to a four-year term as Fed vice chair.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:
Illumina – Illumina issued a 2022 revenue outlook that exceeded consensus analysts’ estimates, noting strong demand for its gene sequencing treatments as well as new partnerships with four health care companies. Illumina jumped 4.1% in the premarket.
Rivian – Rivian fell 3.5% in premarket trading following news that its Chief Operating Officer Rod Copes had left the electric truck maker.
Juniper Networks – Juniper shares rallied 5.3% in the premarket following a double upgrade by BofA Securities to “buy” from “underperform.” The firm said that most networking vendors are still attractively valued and said Juniper’s current guidance from management appears conservative.
Albertsons – The supermarket operator reported quarterly earnings of 74 cents per share, 14 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also topped Wall Street forecasts. Albertsons shares jumped 3.5% in premarket trading.
Intel – Intel namedMicron Technology(MU) Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner as its new CFO, effective next Monday. At the same time, the chipmaker announced the departure of client computing group head Gregory Bryant at the end of January. Intel rose 1.7% in the premarket, while Micron was down 1%.
Accolade – The workplace benefits technology company surged 10.9% in premarket action, following better-than-expected quarterly results. Accolade earned 31 cents per share, compared to analysts’ forecasts of a 74 cents per share loss. The company also issued an improved full-year revenue outlook.
IBM – IBM shares fell 2.3% in the premarket after UBS downgraded it to “sell” from “neutral,” citing risks to operating results as well as what it feels is an “elevated valuation.”
CVS Health – The drug store operator and pharmacy benefits manager raised its full-year earnings outlook, now expecting a profit of $8.33 to $8.38 per share. That compares to a prior outlook of “at least” $8.00 per share and a current consensus estimate of $8.03 per share. CVS rose 1.1% in the premarket.
Big Lots – Big Lots said it has seen a softening of traffic and sales trends this month, with the discount retailer citing winter weather and the spread of the Covid-19 omicron variant. Shares tumbled 7.4% in premarket trading.
Abercrombie & Fitch – Abercrombie rallied 5.9% in the premarket, despite a cut in the apparel retailer’s quarterly sales outlook. While issuing that outlook, Abercrombie also said it had seen a pickup in post-holiday sales.