U.S. stock futures point to a weak open
U.S. stock markets are expected to start trading lower on Thursday, after posting sharp gains in the previous session as oil and other commodities that have surged recently eased while Russia-Ukraine war continued.
Top Ukrainian and Russian diplomats held talks in the southern Turkish city of Antalya early Thursday, but made no significant breakthrough to end the war.
As of 5 a.m. ET, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were indicated 166 points, or 0.5% to 33,099. S&P 500 futures fell 18 points, or 0.42% to 4,257.25 while the tech-dominated Nasdaq 100 futures gave away 80.5 points, or 0.59% to 13,654.25.
The Dow rose 653.61 points, or 2% on Wednesday, closing the session at 33,286.25. The S&P 500 index soared 107.18 points, or 2.6% to end at 4,277.88 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 459.99 points, or 3.6%, to finish at 13,255.55.
Amazon announces 20-for-1 stock split
Amazon (NASDAQ: TSLA) said Wednesday that its board had approved a twenty-for-one split in its stock for the first since January 1999.
The e-commerce giant also said its board has authorized a $10 billion share buyback program.
The stock split and authorized share increase, will need shareholder approval at Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting on May 25.
Shares of the company have dropped 9% over the last year, but Amazon is still one of the most highly valued companies in the world.
Amazon shares closed at $2,785.58 on Wednesday and jumped nearly 6% in the premarket trading session on Thursday.
CrowdStrike pops on strong Q4 results
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) beat analyst forecasts for the fiscal fourth quarter earnings late Wednesday, and provided an upbeat guidance for the current quarter.
CrowdStrike posted fourth-quarter earnings of 30 cents per share, up from 13 cents per share in the same period last year. Revenue came in at $431 million, up 63% on a year-over-year basis.
Analysts had called for adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share on revenue of $411 million,
For the current quarter, the company expects earnings of 22 cents to 24 cents per share and revenue of between $458.9 million to $465.4 million. Analysts project earnings of 17 cents per share on revenue of $440.3 million.
CrowdStrike shares were marked $20.11, or 11.84% to $189.90 apiece in the premarket trading session Thursday.