Wall Street futures slide on rate hike jitters; Meta rises

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian

(Reuters) -Wall Street futures fell on Thursday as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, while Meta bucked the slide in rate-sensitive tech and growth stocks as it took aim at Twitter with the launch of its Threads app.

U.S. stock indexes slipped in the previous session after the Fed minutes showed a vast majority of the policymakers expected further policy tightening, even as they agreed to hold rates steady in June.

Most tech and growth megacaps, whose valuations come under pressure when borrowing costs rise, fell in early premarket trading, with Alphabet (NASDAQ:) and Tesla (NASDAQ:) down 0.7% each.

Meta Platforms rose 1.8% after attracting millions of users within hours of launching Threads on Wednesday.

“No doubt there will be bumps in the road, but the injection of some healthy competition will be a welcome development for consumers,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

“(It) could provide support to Meta’s share price if Threads turns out to be a success, as its huge number of initial sign ups suggest.”

After a dismal 2022, big growth and technology stocks have seen outsized gains in 2023, with the clocking its best first-half in 40 years.

Investors await U.S. jobless claims, job openings and labor turnover survey, private payrolls data, and the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index reading, all due later in the day.

At 7:08 a.m. ET, were down 139 points, or 0.4%, were down 19 points, or 0.42%, and were down 69.25 points, or 0.45%.

Among other movers, chipmakers Qualcomm (NASDAQ:) and Intel (NASDAQ:) extended declines, dropping over 1% each, as the trade war between Beijing and Washington escalates.

China restricted exports of metals used in semiconductors on Monday, adding that the controls were “just a start,” ahead of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to the country.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:) eased 1.0% on signaling a sharp drop in second-quarter operating profit on lower prices and weaker oil refining margins, according to a regulatory filing.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:) fell 1.4% after the company said it would follow a U.S. judge’s May order to end an alliance with American Airlines (NASDAQ:) to protect a planned $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines (NYSE:).

Coty (NYSE:) added 2% after the cosmetics maker raised its annual earnings forecast.