US stock futures were falling Thursday with investors on edge following a flurry of comments from President Donald Trump, particularly on defense stocks and housing names.
These stocks were poised to make moves Thursday:
Northrop Grumman soared 8% and Lockheed Martin jumped 7.6% ahead of the opening bell after Trump wrote on Truth Social that he wanted to hike the U.S. defense budget by half next year to $1.5 trillion, “in these very troubled and dangerous times.” Other defense stocks also rallied— L3Harris Technologies rose 6.7%, RTX added 4.9%, General Dynamics gained 4.3%, and Huntington Ingalls Industries climbed 3.5%.
The defense sector had taken a beating on Wednesday after Trump signed an executive order forbidding them from issuing dividends or buying back stock until “such time as they are able to produce a superior product, on time and on budget.”
Trump also said Wednesday that he plans to ban institutional investor purchases of single-family homes. American Homes 4 Rent slid another 1% in the premarket session following a 4.3% drop the previous session. Blackstone, a landlord of rental units that also invests in the sector through its real-estate funds, was 0.2% higher after tumbling 5.6% on Wednesday.
Alphabet climbed 0.6% in premarket trading after Google’s parent company rose 2.5% on Wednesday to surpass Apple as thesecond-largest U.S. companyby total market capitalization. Alphabet’s valuation stood at $3.89 trillion as of the closing bell, while Apple had a market cap of $3.85 trillion.
Constellation Brands rose 2.3% after the distributor of Corona and Modelo beers reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings and net sales. The stock plummeted 38% last year amid a slowdown in spending on alcohol, particularly among Hispanic consumers.
Costco Wholesale climbed 1.2% after the discount retailer reported net sales of $29.86 billion for the five weeks ended Jan. 4, and a 7% jump in comparable-store sales. The stock fell 5% last year amid concerns about slower growth in foot traffic, higher tariffs, and a lofty valuation—but Wall Street is confidentshares can get back on track.
Globus Medical surged 9.1% after the orthopedic medical device maker’s preliminary fourth-quarter sales numbers beat analysts’ targets. The outlook for the year also looked strong: Globus expects 2026 revenue of $3.18 billion to $3.22 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.30 to $4.40 a share, well above Wall Street estimates.
Jefferies Financial slid 1% even after the investment bank reported higher revenue over the fourth quarter thanks to a robust mergers and acquisitions market. Jefferies said it had taken a $30 million loss tied to the collapse of auto-parts supplier First Brands, and its profit for the period fell 7% to $191 million.
Revolution Medicines slumped 9.8% after AbbVie denied a report from The Wall Street Journal that it was in advanced talks to buy the cancer-drug biotech. An AbbVie spokesperson told Barron’s that the drug maker was “not in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines.” Revolution Medicines had closed 29% higher on Wednesday following the Journal report.
Applied Digital rose 7.2%. The company, which operates artificial-intelligence data centers, posted break-even fiscal second-quarter earnings on an adjusted basis, topping forecasts that called for a loss of 16 cents a share. Revenue of $126.6 million beat consensus of $81.2 million. The company said it expects to exceed net operating income of $1 billion within the next five years.
Earnings reports are expected Thursday from RPM International, TD Synnex, Acuity, Commercial Metals, WD-40, and Tilray Brands.
