U.S. stock index futures rebounded on Friday at the end of a bumpy week marked by rising concerns over tighter monetary policy and slowing economic growth, while Twitter plunged after Elon Musk put his deal for the social media company on hold.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 272 points, or 0.86%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 49.75 points, or 1.27%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 228.5 points, or 1.91%.
Pre-Market Movers
Twitter – Twitter tumbled 10% in premarket trading after Elon Musk tweeted that his deal to buy the company was “temporarily” on hold, as he awaits details on the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform.
Affirm Holdings – Affirm reported a quarterly loss of 19 cents per share, smaller than the 51 cent loss that analysts were anticipating, with the fintech company’s revenue beating forecasts. Affirm also raised its full-year revenue outlook and announced the extension of its ongoing partnership with e-commerce platform operator Shopify. The stock rocketed 33.8% higher in the premarket.
Toast – Toast added 3.2% in the premarket after the restaurant-focused technology platform company reported a smaller than expected quarterly loss as well as revenue that beat Street forecasts. It also raised its full-year revenue forecast, as more restaurants adopt Toast’s technology.
MicroStrategy – MicroStrategy rallied 13.9% in premarket action in what’s been a volatile week for the business analytics company. MicroStrategy, which has extensive bitcoin holdings, saw its stock fall more than 25% on both Monday and Wednesday before rising yesterday.
Roper Technologies – The software and engineered products company is near a deal to sell its process-technology unit to private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice for about $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.
The Honest Company – The Honest Company’s stock rose 3.1% in premarket trading after it reaffirmed its full-year revenue outlook. The personal care and household products company also reported a quarterly loss and revenue numbers that were both in line with Wall Street forecasts.
Duolingo – The language software provider’s stock surged 15.3% in the premarket after it reported a narrower quarterly loss and better than expected revenue. Duolingo said active user numbers are at an all-time high, and it issued upbeat current quarter revenue guidance.
Figs – The health care apparel company saw its stock plummet 25.2% in premarket trading after it missed estimates with its latest quarterly results and issued weaker than expected full-year guidance.
Poshmark – The online apparel marketplace operator reported a loss of 18 cents per share, 4 cents smaller than Wall Street had anticipated, with revenue also beating estimates. That helped send its stock up 2.1% in premarket action, even though Poshmark issued a weaker than expected current quarter revenue forecast.
Market News
Elon Musk Says Twitter Deal Temporarily on Hold
Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter is temporarily on hold pending details, the Tesla founder tweeted Friday.
"Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users," Musk said.
He quote tweeted a Reuters story from May 2 that referenced Twitter's 10-Q filing noting that spam and on fake accounts account for fewer than 5% of monetizable daily active users.
Berkshire Hathaway Buys 901,774 Occidental Petroleum Shares for about $51.7 Mln - SEC Filing
In a filing late Thursday, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it bought another 901,774 shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) common shares at $57.32-$57.34.
The latest purchase brings the stake to 143,162,392 common shares and 100,000 Series A Preferred shares.
The value of the latest purchase was $51.7 million and the common stock portion is now worth around $8.5 billion.
Moderna's COVID Vaccine Spikevax Authorized in Switzerland for Kids Aged 6 to 11
Swissmedic authorized Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax for expanded use in children aged six to 11 years.
Children in this age group will receive two half doses (50 micrograms), at an interval of four weeks.
The Swiss drug regulator added that vaccination is particularly beneficial for children with previous illnesses in whom the risk of severe COVID-19 is increased.
The agency said that a main study in children aged 6 to 11 years found that the immune response triggered by the vaccine against COVID-19 causing virus was comparable with that in young adults.
Nio will hike prices of its ET7 sedans from May 23 due to an increase in global raw material prices
Nio Inc is raising the price of its premium electric sedan ET7 from May 23 onwards due to an increase in global raw material prices, CnEVPost reported on Friday.
The electric vehicle maker said it will hike the starting prices of all ET7 models by $1,470 on May 23.
Rivian recalls R1T electric truck amid faulty airbag sensors
As per a a report filed with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rivian Automotive is recalling some of its R1T electric pickup trucks over faulty airbag systems.
Wall Street Journal cites that the recall covers 502 R1T trucks from the 2022 model year that were produced late September 2021 through early April 2022.
In its first ever vehicle recall, Rivian said in its report, "Occupant Classification System may not deactivate the air bag when a child or child seat occupies the front passenger seat."