U.S. Opening Bell: Tech Earnings Misses Halt Stock Rally; USD Gains, Oil Falls

 | Feb 03, 2022 12:42

  • Meta Platforms slumps 20% in pre-market
  • US Dollar rebounds after three-day selloff
  • Oil prices slip
  • h2 Key Events/h2

    US futures on the Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ and Russell 2000 and regional stocks ended the global rally on Thursday following shocking earnings misses by US mega-cap technology stocks on Wednesday after the closing bell on Wall Street.

    This earnings season's solid results had boosted stocks, kickstarting a recovery from January's selloff, but that's no longer the case today. Investors are now awaiting any additional guidance from the Fed on interest rates, after comments from six members earlier this week seemed to pull back from Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish tilt in January.

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2

    NASDAQ futures led the decline in US contracts this morning, erasing over 2% of their value. On the opposite end of the growth-vs-value scale, contracts on the Dow Jones retreated just 0.3% at time of writing.

    The culprit for all this disruption: Facebook owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB). The company's shares have been sinking in pre-market trade, currently down more than 20% after the social media company yesterday disappointed on guidance.

    NASDAQ futures have been dragged down as well by the frenzy. A transition from the pre-market numbers to regular trading with the same prices will erase more than 20% of the company's value.