By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were higher in early APAC deals on Wednesday, after major benchmark averages tumbled in regular trading as investors reassessed risks associated with the growing coronavirus Omicron variant, while U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will discuss speeding up the bond-buying taper at its December meeting as fears of persistent inflation mount.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 652.22 points to 34,483.72. The S&P 500 shed 1.9% to 4,567.00. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped about 1.6% to 15,537.69.
Dow Jones 30 Futures were up 0.21%, S&P 500 Futures added 0.53% and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.61%.
Among stocks, technology shares were hit with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) down 1.79%, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) falling 4.01%, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) down 2.5% and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) falling 3.31%. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) bucked the trend, gaining 0.68% and 3.16% respectively.
Travel-related shares also slumped as Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) lost 0.11%, Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) fell 0.31%, Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) lost 3.25% and Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BKNG) shed 3.67%.
Financial stocks also declined as long term bond yields dipped, with JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) down 1.49%, Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG) falling 3.1%, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) down 2.46% and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) down 2.06%.
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) also slumped 4.36% after CEO Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times there could be a “material drop” in the current vaccines’ effectiveness against this variant.
In extended deals, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) dropped 6.17% after fourth quarter earnings guidance came in below expectations. Box Inc (NYSE:BOX) and Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA) surged 8.93% and 3.67% respectively as both companies reported better than expected earnings results.
On the bond markets, the United States 10-Year Treasury yield held near 3-week lows of 1.456%.
Ahead in the session, market participants will be closely monitoring November’s Manufacturing PMI, ISM Manufacturing, construction spending and ADP employment change data