U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday on optimism that a deal to avoid a catastrophic U.S. debt default could be reached over the weekend.
President Joe Biden and Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have voiced growing confidence about striking a deal soon, although they could be tripped up by last-minute opposition from the hardline House Freedom Caucus.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak at an economic forum later in the day, a panel discussion that will be scrutinized for any further clues on the path of U.S. monetary policy. Former chair Ben Bernanke is also expected to participate in the panel.
Market Snapshot
At 5:46 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 71 points, or 0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 2.25 points, or 0.02%.
Pre-Market Movers
Alibaba (BABA) - American depositary receipts of Alibaba fell 1.4% in premarket trading, extending losses from the previous session when the ADRs declined more than 5% after the Chinese e-commerce giant said it would spin off its prized cloud division. Revenue in the cloud division disappointed in the fiscal fourth quarter, falling 2% year over year to $2.71 billion, shy of analysts’ expectations.
Palantir (PLTR) - Shares of Palantir Technologies edged up in premarket trading. The stock gained nearly 15% on Thursday after Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment disclosed that several of its funds on Wednesday purchased a total of 1.26 million shares in the analytics software company. ARK purchased another 287,000 Palantir shares on Thursday.
Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia was down 0.5% to $315.37 in premarket trading. Shares of the graphics chip maker closed up nearly 5% on Thursday. During the trading session the stock had risen to as high as $318.28, just off its all-time close of $333.76 set in November 2021. Boosting the stock Thursday was the unveiling of new graphics cards featuring the company’s Ada Lovelace architecture.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) - Occidental Petroleum was rising 1% in premarket trading. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) bought about 3.5 million shares of Occidental at a price of $58 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, raising its interest to 217.3 million shares, or 24.4% of the company, according to filing released late Thursday.
Walt Disney (DIS) - Disney shares fell 0.8% after the entertainment giant said it was dropping plans to build a sprawling business campus near Orlando. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney parks, experiences, and products, said in a memo to staff that the company no longer plans to build the Lake Nona campus due to “considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions.”
Farfetch (FTCH) - Farfetch surged 25.6% in premarket trading after the luxury fashion company reported a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss and sales rose 8% to $556.4 million, higher than analysts’ forecasts.
Deere (DE) - Deere reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $9.65 a share, topping analysts’ estimates, and said sales in the period jumped 30% to $17.4 billion, which also beat forecasts. Deere shares rose 3.7% in premarket trading.
Foot Locker (FL) - Foot Locker stock was falling 25.3% after the footwear retailer slashed its fiscal-year earnings outlook after first-quarter earnings and sales missed analysts’ estimates.
Applied Materials (AMAT) - Applied Materials reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, but the outlook from the semiconductor-manufacturing equipment maker failed to excite investors and the stock was down 1.4% in premarket trading. Applied Materials said the major consumer electronic markets, including PCs and smartphones, have remained weak.
Ross Stores (ROST) - First-quarter sales of $4.49 billion at Ross Stores rose from a year earlier but the off-price retailer said same-store sales for the second quarter and fiscal year would be flat from the year-earlier periods. Ross shares declined 0.4%.
Market News
McCarthy, Schumer Eye Debt-Limit Votes Ahead of June 1 Deadline
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are making plans for votes in the coming days on a bipartisan deal to avert a catastrophic US debt default.
McCarthy said that negotiators on the federal debt limit may reach an agreement in principle as soon as this weekend, lining up a vote in his chamber.
Japan's Nikkei Powers to 1990 "Bubble" Era High
Japan's Nikkei share average rallied on Friday to the highest since August 1990, the country's so-called "bubble" era, driven by a confluence of positive factors from strong earnings to optimism over a U.S. debt ceiling deal.
Japan's stock rally has been powered by a string of strong corporate results, a weaker yen amid views that the Bank of Japan will keep stimulus for longer and an economy that is starting to show signs of a post-COVID consumption revival. Foreign buying thanks to increased investment by Warren Buffett and a push for better corporate governance by the Tokyo Stock Exchange also provided some impetus.
