U.S. stock index futures declined on Monday as COVID-19 flare ups in China added to concerns about slowing growth, while Disney shares jumped as investors cheered Bob Iger's surprise comeback as chief executive.
Attention turns to Wednesday's release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's November meeting after some officials reiterated the central bank's pledge to continue monetary policy tightening until inflation was in check, in part pushing the three main indexes lower on Friday.
Market Snapshot
At 7:45 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 63 points, or 0.19%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 20 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 90 points, or 0.77%.
Pre-Market Movers
Walt Disney (DIS) – Walt Disney rallied 8.5% in premarket trading after the weekend announcement that former Chairman and CEO Bob Iger is returning as chief executive, replacing Bob Chapek. The executive suite change follows a slide in Disney's stock price and weaker-than-expected profits.
Carvana (CVNA) – Carvana fell 5.1% in the premarket after The Wall Street Journal quoted analysts as saying the online used car retailer could run out of cash within a year. Carvan aannounced Friday that it was laying off about 1,500 workers.
Coinbase (COIN) – Coinbase slid 6.2% in premarket trading, with the cryptocurrency exchange’s shares falling in the wake of rival FTX’s bankruptcy. A Bank of America analyst said Coinbase is not another FTX, but faces headwinds amid overall skepticism about the cryptocurrency market.
J.M. Smucker (SJM) – The food producer’s stock rose 1% in the premarket after beating Wall Street’s top and bottom line estimates for its latest quarter. The company behind brands like Smucker’s, Folgers, Jif and Milk-bone also raised its full-year forecast.
China stocks – Shares of China-based companies are under pressure after three Covid-related deaths were reported in Beijing over the weekend, the first reported since May. The overall number of Covid cases in China is on the rise as well. Alibaba (BABA) fell 3.2% in premarket trading, JD.com (JD) dropped 5.2%, Baidu (BIDU) lost 2.5% and Pinduoduo (PDD) slid 2.6%.
Imago BioSciences (IMGO) – The cancer drug developer agreed to be bought by Merck (MRK) in a deal valued at $1.35 billion, or $36 per share in cash. Imago soared 104.3% in the premarket.
Williams-Sonoma (WSM) – The housewares retailer’s stock fell 1.9% in premarket trading after Barclays downgraded it to “equal weight” from “overweight,” pointing to the negative impact of a weakening housing market.
MongoDB (MDB) – The database platform provider’s stock was downgraded to “equal-weight” from “overweight” at Morgan Stanley. The firm said it is upbeat about MongoDB’s long-term prospects but predicts the company will be impacted in the near term by a cautious corporate spending environment. MongoDB fell 3.9% in the premarket.
Market News
Trump Snubs Twitter After Musk Announces Reactivation of Ex-President's Account
Donald Trump on Saturday said he had no interest in returning to Twitter even as a slim majority voted in favor of reinstating the former U.S. president, who was banned from the social media service for inciting violence, in a poll organized by new owner Elon Musk.
Disney Ousts Chapek, Iger Returns as CEO
Walt Disney Co.’s board of directors on Sunday night replaced Chief Executive Bob Chapek with Robert Iger, the company’s former chairman and CEO who left the company at the end of last year, according to a company announcement.
“The board has concluded that as Disney increase; green up pointing triangle embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the company through this pivotal period,” said Susan Arnold, chairman of Disney’s board, in a statement.
TSMC Planning Advanced Chip Production in Arizona, Says Company's Founder
Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC is planning to produce chips with advanced 3-nanometre technology at its new factory in the U.S. state of Arizona but the plans are not completely finalised yet, the company's founder Morris Chang said on Monday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , a major Apple Inc supplier and the world's largest contract chipmaker, is constructing a $12 billion plant in Arizona.