Markets drifted sideways on Friday, with investors waiting for U.S. non-farm payrolls figures before the opening bell on Wall Street, though holding out little hope they will alter the prospect of more hefty interest rate rises to come.
U.S. stock index futures were little changed.
a revenue warning from Advanced Micro Devices Inc sparked losses in chipmakers. Other chipmakers, Qualcomm Inc, Intel Corp, ON Semiconductors, Lam Research, and Nvidia Corp shed between 0.8% and 3%.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 50 points, or 0.17%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.5 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 36.5 points, or 0.32%.
Pre-Market Movers
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – AMD slid 5.3% in the premarket after cutting its sales forecast. The chipmaker said it is being hit by a larger than expected slump in the personal computer market.
Levi Strauss (LEVI) – Levi Strauss took a 4.7% premarket hit after cutting its full-year sales and profit outlook. The apparel maker is seeing an impact from higher costs, supply chain issues and a stronger U.S. dollar.
CVS Health (CVS) – CVS shares fell 4.8% in premarket trading, following a downgrade of one of its Aetna Medicare Advantage plans in annual ratings issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
DraftKings (DKNG) – DraftKings rallied 5.6% in premarket action after Bloomberg reported that the sports betting firm is close to striking a major new partnership with Walt Disney’s (DIS) ESPN unit.
Lyft (LYFT) – Lyft fell 2.2% in the premarket after RBC downgraded the ride-hailing service’s stock to “sector perform” from “outperform.” RBC said its driver supply analysis points to a less bullish outlook for Lyft and that competitorUber(UBER) enjoys “structural advantages” over Lyft.
Ambac (AMBC) – The municipal bond insurer will receive $1.84 billion to settle lawsuits against Bank of America (BAC). The suits stemmed from bond insurance policies that Ambac had provided to Bank of America’s Countrywide Credit unit prior to the 2008 financial crisis. Ambac surged 25.3% in the premarket.
Credit Suisse (CS) – Credit Suisse rallied 5.4% in the premarket after the bank said it would buy back up to $3 billion in debt as it seeks to reassure investors of its financial health.
Tilray(TLRY) – The cannabis producer rose 1% in premarket trading even as it reported a larger than expected loss as well as slightly lower than expected revenue for its latest quarter. Tilray did reaffirm its full-year forecast and said it had achieved nearly all of its cost-saving goal. Tilray, Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Canopy Growth Corp (CGC) and Cronos Group (CRON) were among cannabis stocks that rallied Thursday after President Joe Biden announced pardonsfor those convicted of federal marijuana possession charges.
Market News
Twitter, Elon Musk Trial Postponed as Deal Talks Stall
A Delaware judge presiding over the clash between Elon Musk and Twitter Inc. postponed a trial in the matter Thursday, adding fresh uncertainty to efforts to close the $44 billion deal.
The surprise ruling, granting a request by Mr. Musk, effectively ends negotiations for a settlement that would allow the parties to quickly close the deal. Mr. Musk now has until Oct. 28 to do so.
Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick said if the deal doesn’t close by that date, the parties should contact her to schedule a November trial. She had previously denied attempts by Mr. Musk to delay the trial and had fast-tracked it at Twitter’s request.
Fed Officials Keep Hammering Hawkish Message on Rates Heading Up
Federal Reserve officials kept up the drumbeat of support for extending their run of interest-rate hikes, stressing the need to quash inflation that’s proved unexpectedly stubborn.
Five officials, in separate remarks during the course of Thursday, delivered a resolutely hawkish message that inflation is too high and they won’t be deterred from raising rates by volatility in financial markets.
The median of the 19 policymakers’ latest projections sees another 1.25 percentage points of increases over their two remaining meetings of the year, with investors pricing a 75 basis-point move when they gather Nov. 1-2. Fed forecasts show an additional 25 basis-point increase next year, with policy staying at restrictive levels until at least 2024.
Credit Suisse Launches $3 Billion Bond Buyback
Credit Suisse will buy back up to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3 billion) of debt, an attempt by the Swiss bank to show its financial muscle and reassure investors concerned about the lender's overhaul and how much it may cost.
Speculation about the bank's future gathered pace on social media in the past week amid anticipation it may need to raise billions of francs in fresh capital, sending its stock and some bonds to new lows.