U.S. stock futures drifted lower at the start of the second half of the year, with investors bracing for more volatility amid heightened inflation and expected interest-rate increases.
Market Snapshot
At 8:19 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 121 points, or 0.39%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 15.5 points, or 0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 60.5 points, or 0.52%.
Pre-Market Movers
Kohl’s(KSS) – Kohl’s tumbled 17.9% in premarket trading after the retailer confirmed an earlier CNBC report that it ended talks to be bought by Vitamin Shoppe parentFranchise Group(FRG). Kohl’s said the deteriorating retail and financial environment presented significant obstacles to concluding a deal. It also cut its current-quarter outlook amid more cautious consumer spending.
Micron Technology(MU) – Micron slid 4.6% in the premarket despite reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit. The chip maker’s shares came under pressure due to a lower-than-expected sales outlook, stemming from weakening overall demand.
Apple(AAPL) – J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Samik Chatterjee reiterated an “overweight” rating on Apple, saying he is not as worried about Apple’s prospects as others. The firm has a December price target of $200 per share, $46 higher than its Thursday close.
China-based electric vehicle makers –Li Auto(LI) delivered 13,024 vehicles in June, a 69% year-over-year increase for the China-based electric vehicle maker. Rival Xpeng(XPEV) delivered 15,295 vehicles in June, a 133% jump from a year earlier.Nio(NIO) delivered 12,961 vehicles in June, up 60% from a year ago. Li Auto added 1.7% in premarket action, Xpeng rose 2.1%, and Nio gained 1.8%.
Meta Platforms(META) – The Facebook parent is slashing hiring plans and bracing for an economic downturn. In an employee question-and-answer session heard by Reuters, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it might be “one of the worst downturns we’ve seen in recent history”.
Caesars Entertainment(CZR),MGM Resorts(MGM) – The resort operators reached tentative contract agreements with Atlantic City casino workers, avoiding what might have been a costly strike during the busy July 4th holiday weekend.
FedEx(FDX) – FedEx lost 2.1% in the premarket after Berenberg downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy”, pointing to near-term earnings risks which could halt a recent rally in the stock.
Coupang(CPNG) – The South Korean e-commerce company saw its stock rise 1.7% in the premarket after Credit Suisse upgraded it to “outperform” from “neutral”. The firm feels Coupang’s bottom-line turnaround prospects are underappreciated by investors.
Market News
TSMC sees clients scale back orders
TSMC has seen its major clients Like Apple, Nvidia and AMD adjust downward their chip orders for the rest of 2022, which may prompt the pure-play foundry to cut its revenue outlook for 2022, according to industry sources.
Facebook Parent Meta Cuts Hiring Plans As Mark Zuckerberg Flags "Worst Downturn In Recent History"
Zuckerberg told his staff on Thursday that he was hoping to turn up the heat on them, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing an audio recording of an internal Q&A session.
“If I had to bet, I'd say that this might be one of the worst downturns that we've seen in recent history,” said Zuckerberg.
Musk’s SpaceX Can Serve Planes, Cars With Broadband, FCC Says
Elon Musk’s SpaceX won permission from US regulators to offers its Starlink broadband-from-space service to users in vehicles, vessels and aircraft.
The Federal Communications Commission announced the decision in an order published Thursday, which said it also granted permission for the service to mobile customers of Kepler Communications Inc.
Euro zone inflation hits record 8.6% as the European Central Bank prepares for its first rate hike in 11 years
Euro zone inflation reached a new record high in June just ahead of theEuropean Central Bank’s first rate increase in 11 years.
Headline inflation came in at 8.6% (year-on-year) for last month, according to preliminary figures from Europe’s statistics office Eurostat released Friday. That beat a prediction of 8.4% in a Reuters poll of economists. The rate had reached 8.1% in May which means the cost of living is continuing to surge across the euro zone nations.