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Amazon.com Inc tumbled 6.3% in premarket trading after the
company said sales growth would slow in the next few quarters as
customers ventured more outside the home.
Shares of other technology behemoths, including Netflix Inc,
Google-parent Alphabet Inc, and Facebook Inc, which benefited
last year from people staying indoors due to COVID-19
restrictions, fell between 0.6% and 1.2%.
Caterpillar Inc, on the other hand, was among the few gainers
before the bell. The company posted a rise in second-quarter
adjusted profit on the back of a recovery in global economic
activity that has boosted demand for heavy machinery and
construction equipment.
Hopes of a steady post-pandemic rebound in the U.S. economy have
lifted Wall Street's main indexes to record highs and put the
benchmark S&P 500 on course for its sixth straight monthly gain,
but the rapid spread of the Delta variant as well as rising
inflation has kept sentiment in check.
Data on Thursday showed the economy recovered to pre-pandemic
levels in the second quarter, but the pace of GDP growth was
slower than expected. Meanwhile, a report cited the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention as describing the Delta
variant to be as contagious as Chickenpox.
After the Federal Reserve this week reiterated its view that
higher inflation would be transient, focus on Friday will be on
the June reading of the personal consumption expenditures price
index — the Fed's preferred inflation gauge.
At 6:54 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 74 points, or 0.21%, S&P
500 e-minis were down 25.5 points, or 0.58%, and Nasdaq 100
e-minis were down 148.5 points, or 0.99%.
Pinterest Inc sank 20.9% after saying U.S. user growth was
decelerating as people who used the platform for crafts and DIY
projects during the height of the pandemic were stepping out
more.
Chevron Corp rose 2% as it reported its highest profit in six
quarters and joined an oil industry stampede to reward investors
with share buybacks.
Overall, second-quarter results have come in from about half of
the S&P 500 companies, of which nearly 91% have beaten profit
estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V)
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