(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Monday as oil prices slid and investors remained hopeful about progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while Tesla shares jumped after the company sought investor approval for a stock split.
The electric-car maker climbed 5.7% in premarket trading, set to prop up the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, Apple Inc fell 1.2% after the Nikkei reported that the company plans to cut iPhone and AirPod output as rising inflation starts to weigh on demand for consumer electronics.
All three major indexes recorded two consecutive weeks of gains on Friday, helped by strong economic data and gains in beaten-down growth stocks despite the crisis in Ukraine and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve policymakers.
Ukraine and Russia were preparing for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, with Kyiv insisting it would make no concessions on the country’s territorial integrity.
Offering some relief, oil prices tumbled more than $5 as fears over weaker fuel demand in China grew after financial hub Shanghai’s lockdown efforts to curb a surge in COVID-19 infections. [O/R]
At 07:47 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 66 points, or 0.19%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.21%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 33 points, or 0.22%.
Expectations that the Fed could push harder and faster to tame inflation running at four-decade highs again powered financial stocks.
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo rose between 0.4% and 0.9% as U.S. bond yields jumped again, with the benchmark 10-year yield hitting new highs above 2.5%. [US/]
Among individual stocks, footwear chain Foot Locker slipped 0.8% as Cowen downgraded its rating to “market perform”.
Beyond Meat Inc fell 5.6% after Piper Sandler downgraded the plant-based meat maker to “underweight”.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
