U.S. stock index futures fell more than 1% on Thursday as the growing spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant cast doubts over an economic recovery, while a rout in Chinese technology stocks appeared to have spilled over.
At 8:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 484 points, or 1.4%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 59.75 points, or 1.37% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 207.25 points, or 1.4%.
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic warned that a spike in the highly infectious variant could hamper a U.S. economic recovery.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting also showed that officials felt that an economic recovery still had a long way to go.
U.S.-listed Chinese stocks tumbled in premarket trading, tracking steep losses in China and Hong Kong as investors feared more strict measures from Beijing on the technology sector.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:
Bank of America(BAC),JPMorgan(JPM) – Bank stocks were under pressure on Thursday morning amid growing concern about the pace of the economic recovery. Shares of JPMorgan Chase slipped 2.6%, while Bank of America dropped 2.9%. Banks and other financials are typically viewed as cyclical stocks whose performance is tied to the path of the economy.
Charles Schwab(SCHW) – Shares of the brokerage firm fell 3% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. Goldman said in a note that Schwab had limited near-term upside after the retail trading boom helped to fuel outperformance for the stock in the first half.
Didi Global(DIDI) – The slide of the Chinese ride-hailing app's stock continued on Thursday morning as investors grapple with thecrackdown from the country's regulators on digital companies. Shares were down more than 6% in premarket trading, building on losses of 19.6% on Tuesday and 4.6% on Wednesday.
Alphabet(GOOGL) – The tech giant slipped 1.6% in premarket trading amid the broader market sell-off. On Wednesday, a group of states announced anantitrust case against Alphabetfocused on the Google Play Store on Android phones.
Advanced Micro Devices(AMD),Nvidia(NVDA) – Concerns about global growth appeared to be weighing on the chip sector on Thursday morning. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia each retreated more than 2% in premarket trading despite receiving bullish analyst notes from Goldman Sachs and Oppenheimer, respectively.
Carnival(CCL) – Shares of the cruise line fell more than 4% as the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19 raised doubts about the rebound of the travel industry from the pandemic, including causing a state of emergency declaration in Tokyo. Peer stocksNorwegian Cruise Line HoldingsandRoyal Caribbeanshed more than 3% each in premarket trading.
United Airlines(UAL) – Airline stocks joined other travel names in premarket struggles in the premarket Thursday, with shares of United dropping 3.4%.American AirlinesandDelta Air Lineswere also under pressure.
Occidental Petroleum(OXY) – Energy stocks fell in premarket trading as theprice of oil declined, hit by concerns about global growth and uncertainty about the direction of OPEC policy moving forward. Shares of Occidental Petroleum dropped 3%, whileExxon Mobilslipped 1.8%.
Coinbase(COIN) – Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange slide 5% in premarket trading as crypto markets sold off. The price of bitcoin fell nearly 6% and was trading below $33,000 per coin on Thursday morning.