Investing.com — U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed opening on Wall Street after equities advanced in the prior session. Coinbase (NASDAQ:) reports better-than-anticipated earnings in the fourth quarter thanks to a jump in activity on the crypto exchange following the approval of exchange-traded funds tracking the spot price of . Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos sells a further $2 billion in Amazon (NASDAQ:) shares and Nike (NYSE:) reportedly plans to lay off 2% of its workforce.
1. Futures mixed
U.S. stock futures hovered around both sides of the flatline on Friday.
By 04:06 ET (09:06 GMT), the contract had slid by 25 points or 0.1%, had inched up by 7 points or 0.1%, and had gained 97 points or 0.5%.
The main averages on Wall Street rose in the prior session, with investors gauging the outlook for early Federal Reserve interest rate cuts following a mixed batch of economic data. Retail sales in the U.S. declined in January, leading to a drop in Treasury yields that suggested that some traders thought the report was a sign that the Fed may roll out rate cuts sooner than anticipated. The fall in yields was short-lived, however, in the wake of lower-than-expected weekly jobless claims and a surprise contraction in U.S. factory output last month.
At the close of trading on Thursday, the benchmark had jumped by 0.6%, the tech-heavy had gained 0.3%, and the blue-chip had risen by 0.9%.
On Friday, traders will be keeping an eye out for a consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly are also due to speak.
2. Coinbase soars premarket on earnings beat
Coinbase posted fourth-quarter income that topped Wall Street estimates, as the approval of spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds boosted activity on the crypto exchange platform.
Shares in Coinbase surged in premarket U.S. dealmaking.
Coinbase reported earnings per diluted share of $1.04 in the three months ended on Dec. 31, above expectations for a loss of $0.01 per share, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Trading volumes climbed to $154B from $145B in the same period a year earlier.
“We believe the increases were driven by a variety of factors, principally excitement around Bitcoin spot ETF approvals and broad expectations around improving macroeconomic conditions in 2024, which contributed broadly in the capital markets to ‘risk on’ activity,” the company said in a statement.
Elsewhere, DoorDash (NASDAQ:) shares dropped premarket after the delivery firm unveiled a wider-than-projected fourth-quarter loss due in part to elevated labor costs, while semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (NASDAQ:) popped on a positive second-quarter revenue outlook fueled by strong demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence.
3. Bezos sells $2 billion in Amazon shares for third time this month
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has sold a further $2 billion worth of Amazon shares, bringing the total value of the stock he has offloaded in February to approximately $6 billion.
According to a regulatory filing, Amazon’s current executive chairman — and former chief executive — sold 12 million shares in the e-commerce titan on Tuesday and Wednesday, in a move valued at around $2 billion.
Amazon had previously announced that Bezos was aiming to sell 50 million shares, worth more than $8 billion, over the next year.
4. Nike to cut 2% of its workforce – reports
Nike is reportedly planning to lay off about 2% of its workforce, or more than 1,600 employees, as part of a broader cost-cutting drive.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, the dismissals are set to begin on Friday. A second round will be completed by the end of the quarter, the Journal added, citing an internal memo.
Oregon-based Nike had about 83,700 workers as of May 31, company filings showed. The layoffs are not expected to impact employees at the apparel group’s stores or distribution centers, the WSJ noted.
Nike had earlier flagged that it would embark on a push to save $2 billion in expenses over the next three years, in a bid to offset weaker anticipated earnings linked to a slowdown in consumer spending on non-essential items.
5. Oil prices move lower
Oil prices dropped in early European trade on Friday, weighed down by persistent concerns over slowing demand.
Still, crude prices were set for mild weekly gains after clocking volatile swings through the week. A softer dollar offered oil prices some relief, after the greenback fell sharply from three-month highs tracking weak U.S. retail sales data.
U.S. producer price index inflation figures, due later in the day, are now in focus for more cues on the path ahead for interest rates. Stronger-than-expected consumer inflation data released early in the week saw markets largely price out the prospect of imminent interest rate cuts by the Fed.
expiring in April fell 0.5% to $82.48 a barrel, while fell 0.4% to $77.25 per barrel by 04:05 ET (09:05 GMT). Both contracts were up about 1% for the week.
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