Dow Jones futures fell modestly Wednesday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Midterm election results pointed to a GOP House while Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold more TSLA shares. Disney and Meta Platforms were also in focus, along with Bitcoin.
X
The stock market rally ran up Tuesday morning, fueled by lower Treasury yields and a declining dollar. The major indexes pared strong gains as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunged on a surprise Binance-FTX takeover deal. But stocks rebounded somewhat by the close.
Bitcoin-related stocks such as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN), trading app Robinhood Markets (HOOD), cryptocurrency custodian Silvergate Capital (SI) and Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) sold off.
Looking ahead, the consumer price index looms large.
Key Earnings
Walt Disney (DIS), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Tesla (TSLA) rival Lucid Motors (LCID) and Array Technologies (ARRY) reported late Tuesday.
Disney stock fell solidly in premarket trade as earnings and fell short, though Disney+ subscriber growth was strong. OXY stock, more than 20% owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB), edged lower on mixed earnings. LCID stock plunged amid weak Q3 results and declining Lucid Air reservations. ARRY stock gapped sharply higher on strong earnings and guidance.
Meta Job Cuts
Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) will lay off more than 13,000 employees, or 13% of staff, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff Wednesday morning, taking responsibility for company missteps. Wednesday layoffs were widely expected.
Zuckerberg also signaled less infrastructure spending.
META stock, which hit multiyear lows recently, rose 4% in premarket trade.
Arista Networks (ANET), which jumped after Meta’s Q3 report pointed to a big metaverse spending splurge, fell modestly.
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rose 1% Wednesday morning. Late Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed he sold 19.5 million shares for $3.95 billion on Nov. 4, 7 and 8. That could be to help pay for his recent Twitter deal, though Musk said in early August that share sales then were the last he would need.
Musk has not yet stated that he is done with his latest round of selling.
Musk’s latest share sales likely helped drive Tesla stock’s recent decline. Increased China subsidies and concerns about Elon Musk’s Twitter reign also may be taking a toll on TSLA stock.
Tesla stock fell 2.9% to 191.30 in Tuesday’s session after tumbling to 186.75 intraday, just above May 2021 lows.
Midterm Elections
Midterm election results are still coming in. Republicans are likely to retake the House of Representatives, but a would-be Republican wave was barely a ripple. The Senate remains up for grabs, with a Georgia race likely headed for a runoff. Another 50-50 Senate is possible.
Whatever the final outcome, President Joe Biden and Democrats likely will no longer have full control of the White House and Congress. Financial markets tend to do better with gridlock in Washington….
Read More: Dow Jones Futures Fall: GOP Set To Win House; Elon Musk Sells More