U.S. stock futures were trending higher on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that there is no rush to tighten monetary policy. The dovish sentiments by Powell are positive for equity markets as they eased fears of interest rate hikes.
Dow futures were up 0.06%, S&P futures were up 0.11%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.18% at the time of writing.
Navios Maritime Acquisition Corp. (NNA), Cloudera Inc. (CLDR), and Catalent Inc. (CTLT) are set to report their quarterly earnings before the market opens. Avid Bioservices Inc. (CDMO), Azure Power Global Ltd. (AZRE), and Adamis Pharma (ADMP) will report after the market close.
Vinco Ventures (BBIG) was the most active stock in the pre-market session, with 8.96 million shares changing hands at the time of writing. It is still unclear what’s behind the increased market activity given the lack of any fundamental news.
Affirm Holdings (AFRM) was one of the biggest gainers in the pre-market session, jumping 36.97% at the time of writing. The spike comes on the company confirming a strategic partnership with Amazon (AMZN) to offer a flexible payment option for checkout.
Astra Space (ASTR) was the biggest loser in pre-market trading, falling 22.96% at the time of writing. The sell-off came after the company’s first rocket since going public failed to reach orbit. The rocket appeared to move sideways rather than straight up after lift-off.
In M&A news Terreno Realty Corporation (TRNO) has acquired an industrial property for $8.3 million in Hayward, California. The acquired property consists of two buildings spanning 41,000 square feet on a 2-acre space. The property is 92% leased to ten tenants.
Amazon’s (AMZN) cloud unit Amazon Web Services is to become the official cloud technology provider for Sun Life. The Canadian insurance company has inked a deal to use AWS solutions to pursue new clients and enhance employee efficiency. The strategic partnership allows Sun Life access to cloud technologies, including analytics, machine learning, and storage, among others.
Affirm (AFRM) has inked a strategic partnership deal with e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN). Under the terms of the agreement, the payment network is to offer a flexible payment solution to select Amazon customers that they can use at checkout. The payment option will allow the customers to split purchases of more than $50 into simple monthly payments.
Big Lots (BIG) shares fell 4.85% after the discount retailer delivered disappointing second-quarter financial results. Quarterly sales were down 11.4% year-over-year to $1.46 billion, missing consensus estimates of $1.48 billion. Net income landed at $37.71 million compared to $451.97 million delivered the same quarter last year. Diluted EPS was 1.09, below analysts’ estimates of $1.13.
Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB) shares fell 9.2% despite the company delivering second-quarter results that were above consensus estimates. Earnings landed at $2.86 a share, up 20.2% year-over-year and above consensus estimates of $1.42 a share. While net sales were down 5.1% year over year to $419.26 million, they outpaced consensus estimates of $320.89 million.
