Stock futures plunge
U.S. stock markets look set to drop sharply at the open on Monday amid concerns about spiking inflation and the threat of more Covid lockdowns in China.
Concerns are mounting over sharp interest rate hikes as the Federal Reserve and other major central banks looks to counter surging consumer prices.
A new outbreak of coronavirus cases in Beijing has also sparked fears that parts of the city could be put under strict lockdowns similar to those implemented by Chinese authorities in Shanghai.
As of 5:25 a.m. ET, Dow futures plummeted 324 points, or 0.96% to 33,404. S&P 500 futures gave away 44.75 points, or 1.05% to 4,222.5 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures shed 124.25, or 0.93% to 13,229.25.
Big tech earnings in focus this week
Traders are also preparing for a busy week of earnings, with nearly 180 companies listed in the S&P 500, due to report results in the coming week, including the five big tech companies.
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is scheduled to report ahead of the market open today. Other companies reporting today include, Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION), Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR), and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will announce their quarterly earnings later this week.
Other major companies scheduled to report this week include (Visa NYSE: V), Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).
Twitter reportedly re-examining Elon Musk buyout offer
Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) is reconsidering Elon Musk’s unsolicited bid to buy the company for $54.20 per share, according to a New York Times report.
The NYT, citing people familiar with the matter, that the social media platform is close to a deal to sell itself to the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) chief executive.
According to the report, Twitter’s 11-member board was holding talks with Musk into the wee hours of Monday over his offer to scoop up the company.
The discussions come just days after Musk secured $46.5 billion to fund the takeover. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that a deal could be reached as soon as this week, but the talks could still fall apart.
Twitter stock rose 2.15% to $49.98 a share in Monday’s premarket trading session.