To The Moon

U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Thursday ahead of fresh economic data that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening plans, while investors also waited for earnings from big banks after turmoil in the sector last month.

Market Snapshot

At 8:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were flat, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 16.75 points, or 0.13%.

Pre-Market Movers

Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share, missing analysts’ estimates, but the carrier said its outlook for the second quarter was “strong” and added it was “confident” in full-year guidance for revenue growth of 15% to 20%. Delta shares rose 3.7% in premarket trading.

The report from Delta follows a lukewarm earnings outlook from American Airlines (AAL) on Wednesday. American was rising 1.8% after closing Wednesday’s session down 9.2%.

Fastenal (FAST), the industrial products distributor, was down 2.8% in premarket trading after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat estimates by 1 cent a share.

Harley-Davidson (HOG) fell 3.7% in premarket trading after it was announced that Chief Financial Officer Gina Goetter would be leaving the motorcycle maker at the end of April to join Hasbro (HAS) in the same role. Goetter joined Harley-Davidson in 2020.

American depositary receipts of Alibaba (BABA) were up 1.2% after a report from the Financial Times said Japan’s SoftBank has moved to sell almost all of its remaining stake in the Chinese tech giant.

Sportsman’s Warehouse (SPWH) said it expects fiscal first-quarter net sales of $265 million to $270 million, and a decline in same-store sales of 17% to 19%. Analysts were calling for first-quarter sales of $319.7 million. The stock tumbled 16.5% in premarket trading.

Rent the Runway (RENT) said it anticipates fiscal-year revenue of $320 million to $330 million, below analysts’ expectations of $346 million. The online clothing rental company also said its chief financial officer, Scarlett O’Sullivan, would be departing. Rent the Runway shares fell 4.8% in premarket trading.

Merck (MRK) gained 1.2% to $115.09 after shares of the drug company were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi, and the price target was raised to $130 from $105.

Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) were upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The price target was lifted to $120 from $105. WWE shares rose 1% to $103.82.

Market News

Amazon Web Services Faces Headwinds, Warns CEO, But AI Set to Be "Transformative"

Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy has warned Amazon Web Services is facing short-term headwinds but backed its cost-cutting drive and investment in artificial intelligence to underpin the company’s financial health. 

Jassy was writing in his annual shareholder letter, published on Thursday. The Amazon (ticker: AMZN) CEO, who took over from Jeff Bezos in 2021, admitted Amazon Web Services (AWS) was facing a potential slowdown as clients cut back on cloud-computing spending. 

Delta Air Offers Bullish Outlook on International Travel Demand

Delta Air Lines on Thursday forecast higher-than-expected profit for the second quarter, citing "record" bookings for summer travel, including strong demand for international trips.

The company's earnings in the January-March quarter, however, fell short of Wall Street estimates. Chief Executive Ed Bastian, in an interview with Reuters, said fuel price volatility and bad weather affected the company's performance in the quarter.

SoftBank to Sell Nearly All Its Stake in Alibaba - FT

SoftBank Group Corp has moved to sell almost all of its remaining shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd , the Financial Times reported on Wednesday citing regulatory filings it had analyzed.

The forward sales, which FT analyzed based on filings sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will eventually cut SoftBank's stake in the Chinese e-commerce group to just 3.8%, according to the report.