Tech stocks set to slump again, as Nasdaq-100 futures drop 1%
Published: June 12, 2017 4:43 a.m. ET
Apple trades lower premarket after another downgrade
U.S. stock futures pointed to a drop at the open, with the technology sector on track for a tumble for a second straight session.
Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index NQM7, -1.00% fell by 56 points, or 1%, to 5,692.25. S&P 500 futures ESM7, -0.24% gave up 6.30 points, or 0.3%, to 2,422, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMM7, -0.15% shed 38 points, or 0.2%, to 21,169.
“All eyes will be on the U.S. tech giants when the U.S. stock markets open later today,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, in a note.
“A second session of hefty losses for the Nasdaq and U.S. tech sector XLK, -0.93% could spook the markets this week, so if we don’t get a recovery then we may see a broader decline in growth assets,” she added.
On Friday, the S&P SPX, -0.08% edged down by 0.1% and the Dow DJIA, +0.42% gained 0.4%, but the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.80% lost 1.8%, with its sharp pullback coming after big recent gains for heavyweight tech stocks. The selloff also followed a warning from Goldman Sachs analysts that highfliers such as Facebook Inc. FB, -1.57% , Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.12% , Apple Inc. AAPL, -2.34% , Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.74% and Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOG, -1.03% GOOGL, -1.04% may be overextended.
As the week kicks off, investors are also focused on the Federal Reserve, which on Wednesday is widely anticipated to deliver an interest-rate hike
Shares in Apple traded nearly 2% lower in premarket action following a downgrade to neutral from buy by Mizuho Securities analysts.
It’s the second time in a week that the gadgets giant has been downgraded, with the more bearish view once again stemming from concerns that optimism over the iPhone 8 has been baked into the stock.
Tech names Nvidia Corp. NVDA, -2.37% and Applied Materials Inc. AMAT, -3.89% were also among the S&P 500’s biggest premarket losers, with each stock down by more than 2%.
Other markets: Oil futures CLN7, +0.41% were modestly higher, while European equities SXXP, -0.67% pulled back. Asian markets closed with losses, as the tech selloff spread to those exchanges. Gold futures GCQ7, +0.01% were lower, and a key dollar index DXY, -0.15% also was down.
