U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Tuesday, as investors returned from a long holiday weekend to focus on Beijing’s crackdown on several U.S.-listed Chinese firms, while energy stocks rose as oil prices touched multi-year highs.
At 8:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 36 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 2.5 points, or 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 17.75 points, or 0.12%.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude Tuesday topped $76.98 per barrel, its highest price since November 2014. International benchmark Brent crude was trading around late 2018 highs above $77. The moves came after talks between OPEC and its oil-producing allies were postponed indefinitely, with the group failing to reach an agreement on production policy for August and beyond. OPEC+ took historic measures in April 2020 and removed nearly 10 million barrels per day of production in an effort to support prices as demand for petroleum-products plummeted during the early days of the Covid lockdowns.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:
Didi— Shares of Didi sunk about 20% in premarket trading afterChinese regulators announced a cybersecurity reviewof the ride hailing company late Friday. The move came less than a week after Didi's public debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
Full Truck Alliance and Boss Zhipin— Chinese regulators alsolaunched an investigationinto Boss Zhipin and subsidiaries of Full Truck Alliance, which are both listed in the U.S. Shares of Boss Zhipin, listed under the name "Kanzhun," fell roughly 10% in early trading. Full Truck Alliance shares plunged about 16% in the premarket.
Other Chinese companies — Shares of other Chinese companies publicly traded in the U.S. also dropped after regulators announced cybersecurity reviews.Baidu,PinduoduoandJD.comshares fell roughly 2% in premarket trading.
Oil stocks — Oil company shares rose as oil prices rose to 6-year highsafter talks between OPEC and oil-producing allies were postponed indefinitely. The S&P Oil and Gas ETF gained 1.8% in the premarket, while shares of Occidental Petroleum added 1.9%,Conoco Phillips shares increased 1.7% and APA Corporation's stock ticked 2.2% higher.
American Express— American Express shares gained 2.5% premarket afterGoldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buyfrom neutral. The firm also set a price target of $225 per share for American Express, more than 33% above where the stock closed on Friday. Goldman Sachs said the card stock should gain from an increase in consumer spending as the economy recovers.
3M—Shares of 3M fell slightly in early trading afterCredit Suisse downgradedthe industrial products stock to neutral from outperform, citing challenges with legal issues. "Despite fundamental potential upside from a cyclical upturn in global IP, and potential inventory restocking, we think it will be difficult for 3M to regain its premium multiple at this point in the cycle with two, still difficult to quantify liabilities," analyst John Walsh said.
Pfizer— Shares of the pharmaceutical company fell roughly 1% after Israel's health ministry reported adecrease in effectiveness in Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccinein preventing infection and symptomatic disease. However, Israel said Pfizer's Covid vaccine remained highly effective at preventing serious illness. The announcement comes as the highly infectious delta variant spreads in Israel and around the world.
Weibo Corp chairman Charles Chao and a state investor are in talks to take the Chinese company private in a deal which would value the Twitter-like firm at at least $20 billion and facilitate major shareholder Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's exit, two sources said.The consortium looks to offer about $90-$100 per share to take Weibo private.