Stock futures point to gains
U.S. stock futures soared early on Friday, after all the major U.S. stock indices moved into positive territory during late trading yesterday, before giving away the gains to close the session in the red.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 236 points, or 0.7% to close Thursday’s session at 31,253.
The S&P 500 slipped 22.90 points to end the session at 3,900.78. The index is down 18.7% from its most recent high of 4,796 on Jan. 3 and is about to fall into the bear territory.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.3% to finish at 11,388.50.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow were up 333 points, or 1.07% to 31,535. S&P 500 futures rose 49 points, or 1.28% to 3,947.5 while the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 208.5 points, or 1.76% to 12,086.75.
Elon Musk accused of sexual harassment
Meanwhile, a new Insider report claims Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) boss Elon Musk exposed himself to a flight attendant in late 2016, and the woman later paid $250,000 by SpaceX for her silence.
The incident allegedly happened in Musk’s room aboard a SpaceX jet during an in-flight, full-body massage.
According to the report, which cited documents and interviews, the billionaire also allegedly rubbed the flight’s attendants leg without permission and offered to buy her a horse if she gave him an erotic massage onboard the jet.
The flight attendant rejected his proposition and filed a complaint with SpaceX’s human resources department two years later. She claimed her career opportunities had been hurt by her refusal and she was “receiving some sort of retaliation where her shifts were cut back.”
Insider said the story was leaked by a friend of the flight attendant, who believed that “remaining silent would make her complicit.”
Musk denied the allegations, saying they are “utterly untrue” and that the story “should be viewed through a political lens.”
Ross Stores plummets 27% on ugly earnings, guidance
Shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) skidded 27% in the premarket trading session on Friday after the company reported lower-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue.
The discount retailer also provided a disappointing guidance for same-store stores in the current quarter.
Ross Stores said late Thursday that it earned $338.4 million, or 97 cents per share in the three months ended April 30, down from earnings of $476.5 million, or $1.34 per share a year ago. Revenue came in at $4.33 billion, down from $4.52 billion in the same period last year.
On average, analysts polled by FactSet had called for earnings of 99 cents a share on revenue of $4.53 billion. Same-store sales tumbled 7% during the quarter.
For the current quarter ending July 30, the company expects same-store sales to decline 4% to 6%.
The stock sank $25.35, or 27.35% to $67.35 a share in premarket hours.
