Futures fall as Amazon, Apple results disappoint

[April 29, 2022]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday as disappointing quarterly reports from Amazon and Apple pressured growth stocks, pushing the tech-heavy Nasdaq toward its worst month in two years.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 4, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Amazon.com Inc slumped 9.1% in premarket trading as higher costs hurt first-quarter results and the e-commerce giant issued a disappointing current-quarter forecast.

Apple Inc, the world's most valuable company, fell 2.6% as downbeat outlook for demand overshadowed record profit and sales in the fiscal second quarter.

Other megacap stocks such as Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms, Alphabet Inc declined between 0.1% and 1%.

Despite a strong rebound on Thursday helped by Meta Platforms Inc's strong results, the Nasdaq was set for its worst monthly drop since March 2020, down 9.5% so far.

Investors have dumped high-growth stocks this year on fears of rising interest rates denting future earnings. The Federal Reserve is set to meet next week with a 50-basis-point rate hike all but certain as inflation surges.

Worries around an aggressive monetary policy, the Ukraine war and China's COVID lockdowns have fueled fears around slowing economic growth. Data on Thursday showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter.

Readings on personal consumption expenditure, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation and consumer sentiment, are due later in the day.

At 07:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 158 points, or 0.47%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 36.75 points, or 0.86%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 150.25 points, or 1.12%.

The earnings season has been better than expected so far. Nearly half of the S&P 500 companies have reported through Thursday and 81% of them have topped Wall Street's expectations. Typically, only 66% beat estimates, according to Refinitiv data.

Chevron Corp slipped 0.5% even as its first-quarter profit easily surpassed Wall Street's forecasts as oil and gas prices surged following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Exxon Mobil Corp dropped 0.8% as it took a $3.4 billion writedown due to its exit from Russia, but doubled its quarterly per-share profit.

(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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