U.S. stock futures were trending higher on Thursday despite concerns over the state of the Chinese economy fueling investor anxiety. Focus is on the U.S. August jobs data due on Friday, which could provide clues on how the U.S. economy is doing. A softer than expected print could be positive for equity markets and relieve pressure for early tapering.
Dow futures were up 0.15%, S&P futures were up 0.16%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.19% at the time of writing.
G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII), Mastercraft Boat Holdings Inc. (MCFT), and Brady Corp (BRC) are set to report their quarterly earnings before the market opens. Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) will report after the market close.
Meten EdtechX Education Group (METX) was the most active stock in the pre-market session, with 6.49 million shares changing hands at the time of writing. The increased market activity comes on the company pricing a $60 million underwritten public offering of its ordinary shares. The company intends to use proceeds from the offering for capital expenditure and general corporate purposes.
Tiziana Life Sciences Plc. (TLSA) was the biggest gainer in the pre-market session, jumping 21.21% at the time of writing. The spike comes on the confirmation of a license agreement with Precision Bioscience Inc. for the evaluation of Foralumab, a monoclonal antibody.
Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) was one of the biggest losers in the pre-market session, dropping 21.03% at the time of writing. The sell-off comes on the heels of the clinical-stage company confirming plans to discontinue the clinical development of ABI-H2158 citing patient safety.
In M&A news, Dish Network Corporation (DISH) has confirmed plans to acquire mobile service provider Gen Mobile. With the acquisition, the company will gain access to a company providing direct broadcast satellite subscription television services. The two are yet to confirm the terms of the deal.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has secured a $2 billion contract from the National Security Agency. Under the terms of the agreement, the company is to deliver its high-performance computing technology as a service through the HPE GreenLake platform over the next ten years. The new service will also result in the merger of the company’s Apollo systems and ProLiant services, allowing the NSA to harness its data better.
Bain Capital Specialty Finance (BCSF) participated in a funding round that helped e-commerce company Berlin Brands Group raise $700 million. With the investment, the company becomes a minority investor Berlin Brands, which is looking to acquire emerging e-commerce brands in the U.S. and the U.K.
Vera Bradley’s (VRA) shares fell by 9.42% after the company delivered second-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street expectations. While revenues were up 11.6% year-over-year to $147 million, they fell short of consensus estimates of $153.61 million. Meanwhile, earnings per diluted share landed at $0.28, below consensus estimates of $0.33 a share.
Shares of Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) fell 9.3% in extended trading after the specialty discount chain delivered mixed second-quarter results. Net sales in the quarter climbed 51.7% to $646.55 million but fell short of consensus estimates of $646.9 million. Meanwhile, earnings landed at 1.15 a share, a 117% year-over-year increase, beating consensus estimates of $1.11 a share.
