Marathon Digital, Occidental, Southwest, Merck: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today

Futures are down, while energy commodities are extending gains. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of Monday’s market open.

• Energy producers were getting a boost from the run up in prices for crude and natural gas. Occidental Petroleum OXY 3.54% rose 3.1% premarket, Devon Energy DVN 3.80% gained 2.5%, Hess HES 6.63% climbed 3% and Phillips 66 PSX 3.57% added 2.3%.
• Bitcoin prices are also gaining, and stocks in the crypto ecosystem were reaping gains. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital MARA 2.79% climbed 2.9%, U.S.-traded shares of Hong Kong-based BIT Mining BTCM -2.40% gained 3% and Coinbase COIN -1.37% inched up 0.8%.
• Southwest Airlines LUV -0.22% shares are losing altitude premarket, declining 1.9% from Friday’s closing price. The carrier canceled more than 1,800 flights over the weekend, citing bad weather and air-traffic-control problems in Florida that rippled throughout its operation.

• Emerson Electric EMR -0.72% slipped 1.1% premarket. It plans to merge two of its software businesses with Aspen Technology AZPN 2.84% in a roughly $11 billion deal aimed at capturing growing demand for industrial technology. Aspen’s stock added 3.5%.
• Merck MRK -1.60% applied for emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 pill, but investors seemed queasy. Its shares slipped 1.2% premarket.
• Apple AAPL -0.27% is seeking a stay on a federal judge’s order that it allow app developers to link to other payment methods while its appeal works its way through the system. The iPhone maker’s shares slipped 0.8% premarket.
• Hasbro HAS 0.77% shares fell 1.2% off hours. The global toy, game and entertainment company said Chief Executive Brian Goldner will take a leave of absence for medical care.

Chart of the Day

• The extended climb in oil prices is leaving some other industrial commodities behind, a divergence that reflects bets that energy supply shortages will offset any slowdown in the global economy.

Write to James Willhite at [email protected]

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