Pre-Bell｜US Stock Futures Dip As Powell-Led Momentum Stalls; Verint Up 12%; Vital Rose 9%; Nio Up 6%

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Monday, pausing after strong gains in the previous session, when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted that an interest-rate cut could be under consideration at the central bank's meeting next month.

Market Snapshot

At 08:30a.m. ET, Dow E-minis fell 143 points, or 0.31%, S&P 500 E-minis lost 20.75 points, or 0.32%, and Nasdaq100 E-minis were down 99.5 points, or 0.42%.

Pre-Market Movers

PDD Holdings Inc — PDD beats market estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday, signaling a rebound in domestic demand and improved growth in its international business despite global trade uncertainties. PDD exec said,” We do not believe this quarter's profit levels are sustainable and expect fluctuations in profits in future quarters”. PDD pared earlier gains in premarket.

VITAL ENERGY INC — U.S. shale producer crescent energy company said on Monday it would acquire smaller peer Vital Energy in an all-stock deal valued at $3.1 billion, including debt. Shares of Vital rose 9%, while those of Crescent fell 6% before the bell.

Keurig Dr Pepper — Shares slid 7% after the beverage maker said it would acquire Dutch coffee and tea company JDE Peet’s for around $18 billion. Once the deal is completed, Keurig plans to split its beverage and coffee businesses into two separate, publicly traded U.S. companies.

Verint Systems -- The call center software company popped 12% following a Bloomberg report that private equity Thoma Bravo was on the verge of a deal to acquire it. The deal, which could be announced Monday, values Verint at about $2 billion, said Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Furniture stocks — Shares moved mostly lower in premarket trading following comments from President Donald Trump that said his administration would launch an investigation into imported units. Williams-Sonoma slipped more than 3%, while RH pulled back more than 7%. Ethan Allen advanced more than 3%.

Okta — The identity management service company rose 2% after Truist upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The firm said Okta is reaching an “inflection point,” where challenges will start to abate in the second half of fiscal 2026. The new price target, hiked to $125 from $100, implies 35% upside from Friday’s close.

NIO Inc. — U.S.-listed shares of the carmaker jumped more than 6%, building on their recent gains. The latest run comes after Nio announced its latest ES8 SUV on Thursday. The model is one of Nio’s most affordable automobiles and is priced at 308,800 yuan, or $43,000, under a battery subscription plan that lowers upfront costs for customers.

American Eagle Outfitters — The clothing retailer slipped more than 3% after Bank of America downgraded the stock to underperform. Analyst Christopher Nardone said that while the Sydney Sweeney ad campaign may boost sales near term, the momentum will be sapped by tariffs.

Intel — The chipmaker gained about 2%, still finding gains on the heels of confirmation that the U.S. has taken a 10% stake in the company.

Market News

Jefferies raises S&P 500 annual target to 6,600 on resilient earnings

Jefferies raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab index to 6,600, citing robust second-quarter corporate earnings, easing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

Previously, the brokerage's target was 5,600, and was the sole firm projecting the benchmark index below the 6,000 mark.

Stock exchanges urge regulators to crack down on 'tokenised stocks'

A group representing the world's biggest stock exchanges has called on securities regulators to clamp down on so-called tokenised stocks, arguing that the blockchain-based tokens create new risks for investors and could harm market integrity, a letter seen by Reuters shows.

Tokenised equities are blockchain-based tokens created to represent shares in companies. The tokens represent ownership of the securities but investors do not become shareholders in the underlying company.