Futures slip as earnings disappoint; Meta Platforms weak again

[February 08, 2022]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on Tuesday following disappointing quarterly updates from companies including Pfizer and Coty, while investors looked ahead to inflation data later this week for clues on the path of interest rates.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo
 

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc fell 3.4% in premarket trading after its full-year sales forecast for its COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral pills fell short of Wall Street estimates, while Coty Inc was flat after it posted quarterly revenue below estimates.

The main Wall Street indexes took a hit on Monday after Facebook-owner Meta Platforms fell 5% after a historic plunge last week on bleak forecast. Its shares were down another 1.7% in premarket trading after billionaire investor Peter Thiel decided to step down from the company's board.

Meanwhile, Nvidia Corp slipped 1.6% after SoftBank Group Corp shelved its blockbuster sale of Arm Ltd to the chipmaker in a deal valued at up to $80 billion, citing regulatory hurdles.

At 07:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 1 point, S&P 500 e-minis were down 6.5 points, or 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 35.5 points, or 0.24%.

U.S. stocks have had a rough start to the year, with concerns around a more aggressive policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve, geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and a mixed bag of results from Big Tech names weighing on the major indexes.

All eyes are on the U.S. consumer prices data, set to be released on Thursday, after stunningly strong U.S. labor data last week put extra focus on inflation. The numbers are forecast at a four-decade high 7.3%.

Of the 281 companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings as of Monday, 78.3% beat analysts' profit expectations, compared with an average of 84% over the past four quarters, according to Refinitiv data.

Among other stocks, Peloton Interactive Inc declined 7.2% after saying it would replace its chief executive officer, cut jobs and appoint new board members as the company wrestles with waning demand for its at-home fitness equipment.

General Motors Co fell 4.8% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the automaker's stock to "equal-weight" from "overweight".

(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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