U.S. stock index futures struggled for direction at the start of another big week for corporate earnings amid concerns about a recession, while Salesforce rose on Monday as Elliott Management acquired a stake in the firm.
Market Snapshot
At 7: 50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 6 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.5 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 0.75 points, or 0.01%.
Pre-Market Movers
Advanced Micro Devices— The semiconductor maker rallied nearly 3% after beingupgraded by Barclaysto overweight from equal weight, which said it sees potential upside from direct-current and generative artificial intelligence. The firm also upgraded Qualcomm and Seagate Technology to overweight from equal weight. Qualcomm and Seagate both gained more than 2%.
Wayfair— The online retailer jumped more than 12% after being doubleupgraded to overweightfrom underweight by JPMorgan. The Wall Street firm cited improving market share trends and a better grasp on spending from management.
Salesforce— Salesforce shares gained more than 5% premarket on news that activist investor Elliott Management has reportedly taken amultibillion-dollar stakein the cloud-based software giant.
Shopify— The e-commerce company rose nearly 5% after beingupgraded to buyfrom hold by Deutsche Bank, which said brands are growing increasingly interested in Shopify.
Abbott Laboratories— Abbott Labs lost 2.5% following aWall Street Journalreport Friday that the Justice Department is investigating conduct at its infant-formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan.
CrowdStrike— The cybersecurity company shed nearly 2% after being downgraded to hold by Deutsche Bank, which cited intensifying competition.
PayPal— Shares of the payment company dipped more than 1% in premarket trading after theWall Street Journalreported that large banks are teaming up to create their own digital wallet. The wallet would be a competitor to PayPal and Apple Pay.
Western Digital— The data storage company rose 4% after a report fromBloomberglate Friday that merger talks between Western Digital and Kioxia holdings are progressing.
Warner Music Group— The music entertainment company dropped 2.45% after being downgraded by Barclays to equal weight. Warner Music’s financial performance has been too volatile to justify a premium valuation, its analysts said.
Tapestry— The Coach and Kate Spade parent slid 1.85% after being downgraded to equal weight from overweight by Barclays. The Wall Street firm’s reasons included inflation creeping to higher household income brackets.
Skechers— Cowen upgraded Skechers to outperform from market perform, saying it remains the No. 2 casual sneaker brand in the U.S. and is gaining preference in its survey. Consensus sales and EPS estimates are too conservative, the firm said. Skechers gained nearly 2% in the premarket.
Zoom Video Communications— Shares of Zoom slipped 0.72% after MKM Partners downgraded the company to neutral from buy, citing slowing growth.
Market News
Banks Plan Payment Wallet to Compete With PayPal, Apple Pay
Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corp.,, JPMorgan Chase, and four other banks are working on a new product that will allow shoppers to pay at merchants’ online checkout with a wallet that will be linked to their debit and credit cards.
One goal of the new service is to compete with third-party wallet operators such as PayPal Holdings Inc., and Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay, according to people familiar with the matter. Banks are worried about losing control of their customer relationships.Apple, in particular, poses a big threat. The tech giant has moved further into financial services and is working on a savings account with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and a buy now, pay later offering.
Activist Elliott Management Takes Big Stake in Salesforce
Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has made a multibillion-dollar investment in Salesforce Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the pressures facing the business-software provider.
While details of the campaign couldn’t be learned, Elliott, one of the biggest and most prolific activists, often seeks board representation and pushes for companies to make operational improvements and other changes.
Spotify Seen Cutting Staff as Soon as This Week to Cut Costs
Spotify Technology SA is planning layoffs as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the plans, joining a slew of technology companies from Amazon.com Inc. to Meta Platforms Inc. in announcing job cuts to lower costs.
The number of positions to be eliminated wasn’t specified by the people. Spotify laid off 38 staff from its Gimlet Media and Parcast podcast studios in October. The music streaming giant has about 9,800 employees, according to its third-quarter earnings report.
Goldman Sachs to Cut Asset Management Investments That Weighed on Earnings
Goldman Sachs Group Inc's asset management arm will significantly reduce the $59 billion of alternative investments that weighed on the bank's earnings, an executive told Reuters.
The Wall Street giant plans to divest its positions over the next few years and replace some of those funds with outside capital, Julian Salisbury, chief investment officer of asset and wealth management at Goldman Sachs, told Reuters in an interview.
Amazon Begins Air Freight Services in India
Amazon.com Inc. is beginning air freight services in India, expanding in Asia even as global online sales growth stalls following a pandemic-era boom.
The e-commerce retail giant will use cargo capacity in a Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by partner Quikjet Cargo Airlines Pvt to begin shipments in Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai, said Akhil Saxena, a vice president of customer fulfillment.