U.S. stock futures were trending higher on Thursday with Nasdaq futures leading the way, up 2% at the time of writing. Dow and S&P futures were 0.3% and 0.8% stronger, respectively.
Companies reporting earnings today include JD.com (JD), Option Care Health (OPCH) and JinkoSolar (JKS) before the bell, while DocuSign (DOCU), Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) will release their figures after the market closes.
Nova Lifestyle (NVFY) was the most actively traded stock before the open, up 135% at the time of writing.
NVFY was also the biggest gainer in pre-market trading, followed by HGSH (+80%) and SIEB (+61%), while pre-market’s biggest laggards were MDVL (-17%), MNOV (-16%) and CETX (-14%).
In corporate earnings news, Oracle (ORCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results on Wednesday but fell over 5% after the bell as revenue growth fell short of management’s initial forecasts. Revenues of $10.09 billion came in ahead of the Street’s estimates of $10.07 billion. However, sales were flat and missed the company’s growth projection of 1%-2%. Adjusted EPS surged 20% to $1.16 year-over-year and topped consensus estimates of $1.11.
Asana (ASAN) rose 4% before the open after reporting a better-than-feared Q4 loss and beating analysts’ revenue expectations. A loss of $0.22 per share was narrower than the $0.26 loss estimated by analysts, while total revenue came in at $68.4 million, topping analysts’ expectations of $62.68 million and rising 57% year-over-year.
Shares of AMC Entertainment (AMC) rose almost 10% in pre-market trading after the world’s largest movie theater chain operator reported stronger-than-expected Q4 revenues. The company was operating 394 domestic theatres by the end of 2020 with limited capacity of between 20% to 40%. Revenues of $162.5 million came in well ahead of Street estimates of $142.4 million. However, an adjusted loss per share of $3.15 was wider than consensus estimates of $3.12.
In M&A news, Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV) has agreed to buy Diamond Resorts in a stock deal worth $1.4 billion from Apollo Global Management. The deal is expected to be accretive to adjusted free cash flow per share within the first 12 months. “This strategic combination will leverage the strengths of each company, positioning us to drive significant Net Owner Growth while enhancing efficiencies of scale and generating significant shareholder value,” said CEO Mark Wang.
Boeing (BA) is reportedly close to signing a deal with Southwest Airlines (LUV) for its 737 MAX 7 jets. BA shares jumped over 6% yesterday on speculation that the deal could be worth billions as Southwest Airlines is looking to replace its aging fleet and could order dozens of Boeing’s jets. Earlier this week, Boeing announced that it delivered 22 aircraft in February and booked 82 new orders with 51 cancellations.
