Stock futures are wavering after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to contested regions of Ukraine. Here’s what we’re watching in Tuesday’s trading:
- Crude prices are up, hovering below $100 a barrel, and energy stocks are benefiting. Devon Energy gained 4.4% premarket, Exxon Mobil gained 1.9%, Hess added 2.6% and Occidental Petroleum rose 3.2%. Oil-services companies Halliburton and Baker Hughes both gained, by 2.3% and 1.2% respectively. Pipeline operator Williams Cos . gained 2.5%.
- SoFi Technologies slipped 2.6% ahead of the bell. The lender is buying banking-software maker Technisys for about $1.1 billion, the latest in a string of deals designed to transform it into a one-stop financial shop.
- Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp . , the blank-check company that is merging with Donald Trump’s social-media venture, surged 19%. The platform, Truth Social, has gone live in the U.S., but some would-be users reported being unable to create an account or received error messages when trying to do so. Others were prompted to join a wait list.
- Home Depot edged down 1.1% after its earnings report. The home-improvement retailer logged faster-than-expected sales growth in the three months through January and raised its dividend.
- Macy’s jumped 6.7%. The department store chain reported earnings that beat forecasts and also lifted its dividend.
- Technology stocks were set to lead losses at the open, and major names were slipping. Apple ticked down 0.8% premarket, Tesla slipped 2.3%, Microsoft fell 0.9%, Alphabet shed 0.4% and Meta Platforms was down 1.4%
- McDonald’s shed 0.3% premarket. Carl Icahn has launched a proxy fight for two board seats at McDonald’s, as the activist investor pushes the fast-food chain to require its suppliers to change their treatment of pigs.
- DraftKings shares dropped 5.3% premarket. Both Needham and Wells Fargo cut their price targets for the stock.
- Unisys fell 4.5% off hours. The IT company reported revenue growth of 1.4% in 2021, but a net loss from continuing operations.
- Palo Alto Networks , Agilent Technologies , Virgin Galactic and Toll Brothers are among the companies reporting earnings after the close.
Chart of the Day
- Investors are wagering that the recent pain in the stock and bond markets will intensify. Short sellers are adding to their positions against the SPDR S&P 500 Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, which tracks the broad U.S. stock index, at the fastest rate in nearly a year.
Write to James Willhite at james.willhite@wsj.com
