(Reuters) – Wall Street futures fell on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes, while Meta resisted declines in rate-sensitive tech and growth companies by launching a Twitter-like application, Threads.
U.S. equity indices fell in the previous session after Fed minutes showed a large majority of policymakers expected further policy tightening, even though they had agreed to hold rates steady in June.
Most tech and growth megacaps fell in early premarket trading, with Alphabet and Tesla down 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.
Meta platforms rose 1.7% after attracting millions of users in the hours after Threads launched on Wednesday.
“No doubt there will be bumps in the road, but the injection of healthy competition will be a welcome development for consumers,” said Victoria Scholar, chief investment officer at Interactive Investor.
“(This) could provide some support for Meta’s stock price if Threads proves to be successful, as its large initial listings suggest.”
After a dismal 2022, big growth and technology stocks such as Meta have posted outsized gains this year, with the Nasdaq Composite posting its biggest first-half rise in 40 years.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 154 points, or 0.45%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 19.25 points, or 0.43%, and e-minis Nasdaq 100 were down 64.25 points, or 0.42%.
Investors focus on U.S. unemployment insurance claims, JOLTS and private payroll data due later today, as well as non-manufacturing PMI numbers from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM ).
Chipmakers Qualcomm and Intel extended their declines, dropping 1.2% each, as the trade war between Beijing and Washington escalates.
Beijing on Monday limited exports of metals used in semiconductors, adding that controls were “just the start” ahead of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to China.
Among other engines, Exxon Mobil fell 0.9% as it reported a sharp decline in second-quarter operating profit due to lower natural gas prices and lower oil refining margins, according to a regulatory file.
JetBlue Airways fell 1.2% after the company said it would follow a US judge’s order in May to end an alliance with American Airlines to protect a planned $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)