Stocks poised for lower open
U.S. stock markets look likely to open in the red territory on Friday as traders a slew of disappointing financial results from some top companies.
Traders are also concerned about the responses that some central banks around the world have made to combat rising consumer prices.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) pushed back against expectations of an interest rate hike, with president Christine Lagarde saying that consumer prices would ease next year.
Overnight, Australia’s central bank also chose not to defend its bond-yield target, which is key to its quantitative easing program.
As of 5:40 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow Jones fell 63 points, or 0.18% to 35,550. S&P 500 futures gave away 22.50 points, or 0.49% to 4,565 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 shed 135.25 points, or 0.86% to 15,629.
Apple misses on revenue as supply chain crisis weighs
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was sliding before the opening bell on Friday after the tech giant missed Q4 revenue estimates and warned shareholders that continued supply challenges across its product range are likely to go into the holiday season.
The iPhone maker said profit for the July-September quarter, grew 70% from the same period last year to $1.24 per share and bang in line with analysts’ target.
Revenue stood at $83.4 billion, up 29% from last year but below analysts’ forecast of $84.8 billion.
Apple stock tumbled $5.36, or 3.51% to change hands at $147.21 per share in the pre-market trading session Friday.
Amazon slides on weak holiday quarter guidance
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) also dipped in the pre-market trading session after the company reported a drop in third-quarter profit and warned that it expects the trend will continue through the current quarter.
Amazon posted earnings of $6.12 per share for the quarter, while revenue came in at $110.81 billion. Analysts expected the company to have earned $8.92 per share on revenue of $111.6 billion.
For the holiday quarter, the e-commerce giant said it expects operating profit to be between $0 and $3.0 billion, below the $6.9 billion it reported in the same period last year.
Amazon expects to incur additional costs during the quarter, as its windfall from online shopping diminishes due to increased worker pay and other operational disruptions.
As of writing, Amazon shares were marked $166.57, or 4.83% lower to $3,280 per share before Friday’s opening bell.
Facebook rebrands; new ticker symbol to go into effect on Dec. 1
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has changed its name to Meta Platforms Inc., as the company attempts to shift focus attention away from its troubled social media business and on to its future technologies.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the change Thursday, which he hopes will help rebrand the company and reposition it as a metaverse player.
The company, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and other products, also intends to change its “FB” ticker symbol to “MVRS” beginning Dec. 1.
Facebook stock was up $3.58, or 1.13% to $320.50 per share in the pre-market trading session.
