What to watch today: Wall Street set to open lower as tech stocks sink in premarket

U.S. stock futures dropped Friday, with the Nasdaq heading for the biggest loss at the open, as shares of Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) sank in the premarket on disappointing quarterly results. Microsoft (MSFT) could take the most valuable company crown from Apple if premarket trading holds into the regular session. (CNBC)

Ahead of the tech earnings, which came after the bell Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs and were tracking for solid weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished just shy of Tuesday's record close and was only slightly positive for the week ahead of Friday's session. (CNBC)

In addition to following earnings Friday, investors got a key read on inflation that's closely watched by the Federal Reserve. The September core personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 3.6% from last year, matching the August increase that was the biggest in more than 30 years.

* Labor shortage, supply constraints and inflation hold back economy (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Shares Amazon sank 4% in Friday's premarket, the morning after the e-commerce and cloud giant badly missed estimates on both per-share adjusted earnings of $6.12 and revenue of $110.81 billion in the third quarter. Amazon also delivered lower guidance for the upcoming critical holiday period (CNBC)

Apple shares slid about 3.5% in premarket trading after the tech giant late Thursday matched forecasts with adjusted earnings of $1.24 per share in its fiscal fourth quarter but missed on revenue of $83.36 billion. Apple said supply chain issues impacted production of iPhones and its other products. (CNBC)

Facebook announced Thursday that it's changed its company name to Meta (FB), as in metaverse. The company also said in announcing the new name that it will change its stock ticker from FB to MVRS, effective Dec. 1. Meta shares, which have recently been under pressure, closed higher Thursday and rose again in Friday's premarket. (CNBC)

* Meta shares spike, but it’s a Canadian materials company, not the rebranded Facebook (CNBC)

Shares of Chevron (CVX) gained nearly 2% in the premarket after the company on Friday reported its the highest free cash flow on record during the third quarter as surging commodities prices and lower operational costs boosted operations. The oil giant beat top- and bottom-line estimates for the period, earning $2.96 per share on an adjusted basis. Revenue jumped more than 80% year over year to $44.71 billion. (CNBC)

Exxon Mobil shares rose roughly 1% in premarket trading after the energy giant Friday reported adjusted per-share earnings of $1.58 in the third quarter; the highest profit in years, beating estimates by 2 cents, and reversing a year-ago loss. Revenue of $73.79 billion missed forecasts, but it was up nearly 60% year over year. (CNBC)

* Lawmakers threaten Big Oil CEOs with subpoenas for climate disinformation campaign (CNBC)

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asserted Friday that the Biden administration's infrastructure spending proposal will lower inflation by reducing costs vital to households. Yellen also told CNBC that the $1.75 trillion framework for President Joe Biden's climate and social spending priorities is "fully paid for" in part by asking wealthy Americans to pay more taxes. (CNBC)

* Biden’s social spending framework gets a chilly reception from holdouts in Congress (CNBC)

Yellen, former Federal Reserve chair, is accompanying Biden on his overseas trip at the G20 summit in Rome and the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland. She will push a slew of White House global economic priorities on corporate taxes, climate financing, preventing new pandemics and easing inflationary supply chain disruptions. (Reuters)

The Biden administration is in talks to offer immigrant families that were separated during the Trump administration around $450,000 a person in compensation, according to people familiar with the matter, as several agencies work to resolve lawsuits filed on behalf of parents and children who say the government subjected them to lasting psychological trauma. (WSJ)

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was charged Thursday with a misdemeanor sex-crime complaint that alleges he forcibly touched a woman last Dec. 7 in the governor's Executive Mansion in Albany. The filing comes two months after Cuomo resigned in disgrace following accusations of sexual harassment. (CNBC)

* Quenneville resigns as Panthers coach in wake of Blackhawks' sexual abuse case (ESPN)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Starbucks (SBUX) beat estimates by a penny with an adjusted quarterly profit of $1.00 per share, but the coffee chain's revenue and global comparable-store sales fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Starbucks saw a particularly negative impact on its results from a resurgence of Covid-19 in the key China market. Starbucks slumped 5.2% in Friday's premarket.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) earned an adjusted $2.65 per share for its latest quarter, surpassing the $1.75 consensus estimate, while the drugmaker's revenue exceeded forecasts by a comfortable margin. Gilead saw strong demand for its antiviral Covid-19 treatment remdesivir, but said full-year sales of its non-Covid drugs won't reach earlier estimates and its stock lost 1.7% in the premarket.

Momentive Global (MNTV), the parent of SurveyMonkey, agreed to be bought by customer service platform operator Zendesk (ZEN) for $4.13 billion in stock. Zendesk tumbled 18.5% in the premarket, while Momentive Global lost 5.7%.

U.S. Steel (X) surged 9.2% in premarket trading after it reported an adjusted quarterly profit of $5.36 per share, compared with a $4.85 consensus estimate. Revenue also came in above analyst projections as steel shipments surged, while U.S. Steel also raised its quarterly dividend to 5 cents per share from 1 cent, and announced a $300 million stock buyback.

Western Digital (WDC) tumbled 11.2% in premarket trading after the disk drive maker provided weaker-than-expected current-quarter financial guidance. Western Digital, like other tech companies, is being hit by supply chain issues, although it did beat estimates by 4 cents with an adjusted quarterly profit of $2.49 per share.

Newell Brands (NWL), the company behind consumer product brands like Rubbermaid, Sunbeam and Sharpie earned an adjusted 54 cents per share for the third quarter, 4 cents above estimates, with revenue slightly above forecasts. It also raised its full-year outlook despite supply chain and inflation issues, and its stock added 2% in the premarket.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL) beat estimates by 2 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of 81 cents per share and revenue also beating analyst predictions. Like many other companies, Colgate said it faced higher costs for raw materials and logistics.

WATERCOOLER

Netflix's (NFLX) "Squid Game" now has its very own brand of cryptocurrency based on the new Korean-language hit series. It launched with a huge price run-up. SQUID is trading at more than $2, up nearly 2,400% over the last 24 hours, and its market capitalization is above $174 million. (CNBC)

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