Nasdaq futures were lower for a second straight day on Wednesday as the selloff in tech stocks continued, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were little changed.
Investors are gauging the impact of a global ransomware attack that disrupted computers at banks and large companies.
The tech index has been under pressure in the last few weeks as investors, concerned with the sector’s lofty valuations, shift to defensive sectors.
Shares of big tech names such as Apple (AAPL.O), Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Facebook (FB.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) were all down in premarket trading.
A delay in the Republican healthcare bill also weighed after a planned vote on a bill to dismantle the Affordable Care Act was put off to after the Senate’s July 4 recess.
The healthcare legislation, which has encountered resistance from several Republicans, is the first plank of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda, with investors eager for him to move onto his other plans, including tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation.
Trump’s promises of a pro-growth agenda is partly behind the S&P’s 13 percent rise since the Nov. 8 election.
Investors are gearing up for second-quarter corporate earnings season after a strong first quarter, with the S&P 500 trading at nearly 18 times forward earnings estimates, well above its long-term average of 15 times.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the central bank would continue raising rates gradually and that “by standard metrics, some asset valuations look high but there’s no certainty about that.”
Fed officials have signaled that they would look through a slowdown in inflation and continue on their current path for hikes.
Oil edged lower toward $47 a barrel after an industry report said U.S. inventories increased, reviving concerns that a three-year supply glut is far from over. [O/R]
Spectranetics (SPNC.O) jumped 26.6 percent to $38.50 after Dutch healthcare company Philips (PHG.AS) agreed to buy the company for $2.16 billion.
KB Home (KBH.N) edged up 0.8 percent to $23 after the homebuilder increased its full-year forecast.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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