Stock futures slide
U.S. stock futures pointed to a weak open for stocks on Monday, ahead of the start of second-quarter earnings season and the release of June CPI data.
At around 5:20 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were marked 141 points, or 0.45% lower to 31,169. S&P 500 futures lost 20.25 points, or 0.52% to 3,881 while the tech-focused Nasdaq 100 futures gave away 81.75 points, or 0.58% to 12,070.25.
The stock market posted a mixed performance on Friday, as traders digested the latest report on employment.
Data released by the Labor Department showed the U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June, well above the 250,000 economists expected. The rate of unemployment remained unchanged at 3.6%, in line with expectations.
The Dow Jones fell 46.40 points to finish at 31,338.15, while the S&P 500 slipped 3.24 points to close at 3,899.38. The Nasdaq Composite gained 13.96 points to end at 11,635.31.
Earnings season, CPI data in focus this week
The main focus this week will be the U.S. inflation data for June, which is due on Wednesday.
Expectations are for the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) to have increased 8.8% on a year-over-year basis and 1.1% on a month-over-month basis.
The CPI reading may weigh on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hike decision when its policymakers meet later this month.
Aside from inflation data, the U.S. second-quarter corporate earnings season kicks off this week, with JP Morgan (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) scheduled to report on Thursday. Citi (C) will release its earnings on Friday.
Elon Musk abandons $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter
Meanwhile, shares of Twitter (TWTR) were under pressure in premarket hours Monday after Elon Musk walked away from his $44bn bid to buy the social media company.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday, Musk’s lawyers informed Twitter executives that he is “terminating their merger agreement.”
The lawyers added that Musk has a right to pull the plug on the deal because Twitter “appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied when entering into the merger agreement.”
Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share in April, after his acquiring a stake of 9.2% in the company.
Twitter now plans to sue Musk and claim a $1 billion breakup fee.
Shares of the California-based company dipped 6.68% to $34.35 apiece in the premarket trading session.
