By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were slightly higher in early APAC deals Thursday after major benchmark averages fell during regular trade, with investors retreating amid growing inflation while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of the coronavirus Omicron variant in California, a traveler who returned to California from South Africa on November 22.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 461.68 points or 1.34% to 34,022.04. The S&P 500 lost 53.98 points or 1.18% to end at 4,513.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 283.64 points or 1.83% to 15,254.05 after rising as much as 1.8% earlier in the session.
Dow Jones 30 Futures added 0.31%, S&P 500 Futures lifted 0.16% and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.19%
Among stocks, Travel names were among the biggest laggards. American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) fell nearly 8%, Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) dropped 7.3%, and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) slipped 7.5% and Aerospace manufacturer Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) lost 4.8%. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) and Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) also declined 8.8% and 7%, respectively.
Technology related stocks fell broadly, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) dipped 1.81%, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shed 4.27%, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost 0.32%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.15%, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) dipped 4.35% and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) lost 0.6%.
Meantime, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) plunged 11.74%, posting its steepest drop since March 2020 after reporting weaker than expected earnings guidance for the fourth quarter earlier in the week.
Retailers also sustained losses, with Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) down 5.3%, Kohl’s lost 5.6%. Best Buy and Macy’s dropped 4.3% and 4.6%, respectively.
In extended deals, Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) popped 12.86% after reporting a beat on revenue estimates, while Five Below Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE) surged 11% after earnings results beat top- and bottom-line estimates. Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) also moved 0.9% higher after-hours after announcing that it will change its name to Block as the company continues its expansion into blockchain technologies.
On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates fell to fresh 10-week lows of 1.404%.