Dow futures were higher even after a losing week on Wall Street as investors ditched equities amid concerns over the new omicron Covid variant and the Federal Reserve’s move to tighten policy.
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 244 points. S&P 500 futures were 0.44% higher. Nasdaq 100 futures hovered around the flatline.
Nasdaq stock futures were the underperformer on Sunday following a big drop in bitcoin over the weekend and as investors continued to rethink owning tech stocks with high valuations.
The Dow and S&P 500 fell 0.17% and 0.84%, respectively, on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.92%.
Tesla was the biggest drag on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Friday, with shares of the electric vehicle company sliding more than 6%.
Cathie Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation Fund slid more than 5%, and all of the fund’s holdings are now in a bear market apart from two stocks. Teladoc Health, Zoom Video, Roku, Palantir and Twilio are some of the names that have registered steep losses.
The heavy selling in technology stocks extended to the crypto universe where prices also dropped. Bitcoin traded around $57,000 on Friday morning, but by Saturday had plunged to around $43,000. By Sunday the world’s largest cryptocurrency had clawed back some of its losses, but it still traded below the key $50,000 level.
Slower-than-expected job growth also contributed to Friday’s broad market selling. Nonfarm payrolls increased by
