Pre-Bell｜S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Down; Lithium Americas Jumped 21%; Opendoor Up 5%; CarMax Down 13%

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged lower on Thursday, after a record-breaking rally earlier this week, as investors awaited fresh catalysts to sustain the momentum in what has been an unusually strong September for markets.

Market Snapshot

At 08:40 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 89 points, or 0.19%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 28 points, or 0.42%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 154.5 points, or 0.62%.

Pre-Market Movers

Oracle — The database software company fell 3% as worries around the AI trade continue to drag the stock lower. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage of Oracle with a sell rating, saying the market is “materially” overestimating Oracle’s contracted cloud revenues. It sees a 40% drop ahead for the stock.

Intel — Shares moved 2% higher following a Bloomberg report that Intel has approached Apple about investing in the chipmaker. Talks are in the early stages, the report said, citing sources.

Transocean — The stock tumbled 15.7% after the offshore driller announced its plans to sell 125 million shares of the company at a price of $3.05, significantly lower than Wednesday’s close of $3.64.

Opendoor Technologies Inc — Trading firm Jane Street disclosed a 5.9% stake in the online real estate platform, sending shares 5% higher. The stock has surged more than 400% so far this year.

Lithium Americas Corp. — The mining stock popped another 21%, putting it on pace to build on its massive 95.8% surge from the previous session. Lithium Americas ripped higher Wednesday as the Trump administration seeks to build an equity stake in the Canadian company.

Jabil Circuit — The electronic manufacturing company slipped 4%, despite reporting an earnings and revenue beat for its fourth quarter. Jabil’s core earnings were $3.29 per share, versus the $2.92 FactSet consensus estimate. Revenue was $8.25 billion, coming in above the $7.95 billion expected from analysts.

Stitch Fix Inc. — Shares tumbled 7%. The online styling company reported lower adjusted EBITDA in the fourth fiscal quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Stitch Fix also said its active client base shrunk nearly 8% year over year.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. — The car rental company’s subsidiary, The Hertz Corporation, has agreed to sell $375 million in exchangeable senior notes, due in 2030. The stock added 2.7%.

uniQure NV — The biotech firm’s stock soared nearly 9% after a clinical trial found the company’s experimental gene therapy for Huntington’s slowed the progress of the neurodegenerative disease.

CarMax — Shares plummeted 13% after the used car retailer reported disappointing quarterly results. CarMax posted earnings of 64 cents per share in the second quarter, far below the $1.04 earnings per share analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating. Revenue of $6.59 billion missed the $7.01 billion consensus estimate.

BlackBerry — Shares added 2.6% after the company’s second-quarter earnings topped expectations. Blackberry’s adjusted earnings were 4 cents a share, vs the 1 cent expected from analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue was $129.6 million, beating the $120.1 million consensus estimate.

Market News

Starbucks to close underperforming stores, cut jobs in latest restructuring

Starbucks said on Thursday it has approved a restructuring plan to close underperforming coffee houses in North America, and cut some jobs as the company looks to revive sales and profits under CEO Brian Niccol.

The company has been overhauling its operations in the United States, centered around Niccol's plan to bring back a coffeehouse environment at its stores by introducing ceramic mugs, comfortable seating and reduced wait times.

European Commission launches antitrust probe into software giant SAP

The European Commission launched an antitrust probe into German software behemoth SAP on Thursday, citing concerns about the company’s practices in software support services.

According to the Commission, the investigation will assess “whether SAP may have distorted competition in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services related to an on-premises type of software, licensed by SAP, used for the management of companies’ business operations.”