© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
(Reuters) – Nasdaq futures fell over 1% on Thursday as megacap shares remained under pressure with investors taking stock of recent Big Tech earnings and elevated Treasury yields, while keeping an eye out for economic data and the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Even after its third-quarter results beat expectations, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) dropped 2.6% in premarket trading with the Facebook parent forecasting 2024 spending above estimates and suggesting the conflict in Israel and Gaza could dampen fourth-quarter sales.
With the hovering near the 5% mark, other megacaps including Tesla (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) fell 2.9% and 1%, while Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) shed 1.4% ahead of its results after the closing bell.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:), too, lost 2.1% after Wednesday’s 9.5% slide following disappointing cloud services revenue, steering a tumble on Wall Street in the prior session.
The closed below the closely watched 4,200 level on Wednesday.
At 5:14 a.m. ET, were down 117 points, or 0.35%, were down 27.25 points, or 0.65%, and were down 146.25 points, or 1.01%.
United Parcel Service (NYSE:), Merck & Co, Honeywell International (NASDAQ:), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) and Boston Scientific (NYSE:) are some of the major companies detailing their earnings before markets open.
So far, 80% of the 146 S&P 500 companies that have reported their results beat earnings expectations, LSEG data showed on Wednesday.
Investors will also parse a slate of data, including September’s durable goods, an advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims, during the day to assess economic health and the outlook for interest rates.
Traders see a 97% chance of the Federal Reserve holding its rates steady on Nov. 1 at a meeting, while that for the December meeting stood at around 69%, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
On the geopolitical front, Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip, preparing for a ground invasion it says is aimed at annihilating the Palestinian militant group Hamas as Russia warned the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East.
Among other stocks, Ford Motor (NYSE:) advanced 1.4% after reaching a tentative labor deal with the United Auto Workers union to end a strike.
Align (NASDAQ:) Technology tanked 25.1% after the dental company lowered its full-year revenue forecast.
