Wall Street futures drop due to rate hike concerns; Meta surges.

(Reuters) – Wall Street futures fell on Thursday as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, while Meta bucked the slide in rate-sensitive technology and growth companies as it launched a Twitter-like app, Threads.

U.S. stock indexes slipped in the previous session after the Fed minutes showed a vast majority of the policymakers expected further policy tightening, even as they agreed to hold rates steady in June.

Most tech and growth megacaps fell in early premarket trading, with Alphabet and Tesla down 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.

Meta Platforms rose 1.7% after attracting millions of users within hours of launching Threads on Wednesday.

“No doubt there will be bumps in the road, but the injection of some healthy competition will be a welcome development for consumers,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

“(It) could provide support to Meta’s share price if Threads turns out to be a success, as its huge number of initial sign ups suggests.”

After a dismal 2022, big growth and technology stocks such as Meta have seen outsized gains this year, with the Nasdaq Composite clocking its biggest first-half rise in 40 years.

At 05:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 154 points, or 0.45%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 19.25 points, or 0.43%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 64.25 points, or 0.42%.

Investors are focused on U.S. jobless claims, JOLTS and private payrolls data due later in the day as well as the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) non-manufacturing PMI numbers.

Chipmakers Qualcomm and Intel extended declines, dropping 1.2% each, as a trade war between Beijing and Washington escalates.

Beijing restricted exports of metals used in semiconductors on Monday, adding that the controls were “just a start,” ahead of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen trip to China.

Among other movers, Exxon Mobil eased 0.9% on signaling a sharp drop in second-quarter operating profit on lower natural gas prices and weaker oil refining margins, according to a regulatory filing.

JetBlue Airways fell 1.2% after the company said it would follow a U.S. judge’s May order to end an alliance with American Airlines to protect a planned $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines.

(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)

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