Markets Slide on UAE Drone Strike, Regeneron Tanks on Trial Miss, NextNRG Soars on Earnings
MarketDash
U.S. stock futures fell Monday after a drone strike near the UAE's Barakah nuclear plant and Friday's sell-off. Regeneron plunged on a failed melanoma trial, while NextNRG surged on strong quarterly results.
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U.S. stock futures took a hit Monday, extending last week's losses as geopolitical tensions flared up again. A drone strike triggered a fire near the United Arab Emirates' Barakah nuclear power plant, though officials were quick to say there was no radiation leak or injuries. The news comes after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social last week that Iran must act "FAST, or there won't be anything left of them."
Investors are also bracing for a big week of earnings and economic data. The main event is Nvidia (NVDA), which reports after the close on Tuesday. The 10-year Treasury yield sat at 4.08%, while the two-year was at 4.60%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in a 99.2% chance that the Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged at its June meeting.
Here's how the major index futures were shaping up Monday morning:
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) tumbled 11.92% in premarket Monday after its Phase 3 trial for metastatic melanoma failed to hit statistical significance. The company's stock rankings show a strong long-term price trend but weak short- and medium-term trends, with a moderate quality score.
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) fell 5.20% after Berkshire Hathaway, now under Greg Abel, completely sold off its stake in the company. Despite the news, UNH's stock rankings indicate strong price trends across all time frames, though it has a poor growth score.
Strategy
Strategy Inc. (MSTR) was down 2.89% after announcing Friday it would repurchase $1.5 billion of convertible debt, listing Bitcoin (BTC) sales as a potential funding source. The stock shows a weak long-term price trend but strong short- and medium-term trends.
NextNRG
NextNRG Inc. (NXXT) surged 91.16% after reporting first-quarter revenue of $21.1 million, up 29% year-over-year, with gross profit more than tripling. Despite the massive move, the stock's rankings show weak price trends across all time frames.
ServiceNow
ServiceNow (NOW) rose 3.50% after announcing a multi-year global partnership with Experian to expand AI-driven enterprise automation. The stock's rankings show weak price trends across all time frames but a solid growth score.
Cues From Last Session
Friday was a rough day for most sectors, with materials, utilities, and consumer discretionary taking the biggest hits. Energy stocks bucked the trend and closed higher. Here's how the major indices finished:
Index
Performance (+/-)
Value
Dow Jones
-1.07%
49,526.17
S&P 500
-1.24%
7,408.50
Nasdaq Composite
-1.54%
26,225.14
Russell 2000
-2.44%
2,793.30
Insights From Analysts
Mohamed El-Erian sees the U.S. economy and financial markets "navigating an increasingly complex and divergent landscape." While stocks have largely shrugged off bond volatility to focus on earnings and AI, El-Erian warns of factors that could undermine the rally. Persistent inflation and higher interest rates pose serious risks, and he cautions that "the longer and larger the global inflation hit, the greater the risk of demand destruction." He also notes that incoming Fed leadership faces intensifying risks to economic growth. For the stock market, El-Erian warns that "stocks could face cross-asset contamination from continued bond market volatility" and stresses the importance of the "yield-equity transmission" channel. Investors need to watch "whether these structurally higher rates will finally begin to weigh more heavily on equity valuations and corporate credit spreads."
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what's on the calendar this week:
Monday: Atlanta Fed First Vice President Cheryl Venable delivers welcoming remarks at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Tuesday: April pending home sales at 10:00 a.m., Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson speaks at 7:00 p.m., and Atlanta Fed First Vice President Cheryl Venable gives closing remarks at 7:45 p.m. ET.
Wednesday: Minutes from the Fed's May FOMC meeting released at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Thursday: Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 16, April housing starts and building permits, and May's Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey, all at 8:30 a.m. ET. May's S&P flash U.S. services and manufacturing PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Friday: May's final consumer sentiment and April's U.S. leading economic indicators at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures rose 0.96% in early New York trading to around $101.99 per barrel. Gold was up 0.24% at $4,550.74 per ounce, well off its record high of $5,595.46. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.14% to 99.15. Bitcoin fell 1.46% over the last 24 hours to $76,888.56.
Asian markets were mixed Monday: India's Nifty 50 and South Korea's Kospi rose, while Australia's ASX 200, Japan's Nikkei 225, China's CSI 300, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.