By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Wednesday, July 8th. Please refresh for updates.
Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI) stock fell 5.3% after the jeans maker reported a 62% fall in sales in its most recent quarter after the close Tuesday, and said it was cutting 700 jobs, or about 15% of its corporate staff, as it grapples with the downturn caused by the pandemic.
AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) stock soared 12% after the WSJ reported that the company is working on a $200 million financing package to avert bankruptcy. The company plans to start reopening some of its movie theaters, which were closed by the coronavirus, at the end of July. The WSJ noted that the proposed deal faces opposition from various quarters.
- Allstate (NYSE:ALL) stock fell 3% after announcing late Tuesday that it will buy National General (NASDAQ:NGHC), up 65%, for about $4 billion in cash, in a moved aimed at expand the insurance giant's market share in personal property-liability.
- HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) ADR fell 2.7% after worries the U.S. government could move to undermine the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the U.S. dollar and crack down on banks in the city.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) stock fell 0.5% after leaders from four of the organizations spearheading the boycott of the company’s advertising called the meeting with Facebook’s management team a disappointment. The boycott now looks likely to drag on as a result.
Additionally, lawyers hired by the social-media giant to audit its response said the company had been too reactive and slow in dealing with hate speech and misinformation.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) stock fell 1.4% after the Chicago-based carrier announced Tuesday it now plans to fly about 35% of what it flew a year ago in August, down from around 40% planned on July 1.
KKR (NYSE:KKR) stock rose 2.9% after it announced Wednesday an agreement to buy retirement and life insurance company Global Atlantic Financial, which had a book value of about $4.4 billion in late March.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stock rose 1.4%, continuing Tuesday’s sharp gains on a report released late in the session that the retailing giant was planning to launch its own version of Amazon’s Prime membership.
- Rekor Systems (NASDAQ:REKR) stock rose 1.6% after the company stated that it expects gross revenue to be above $2.6 million, in the second quarter, representing 60% growth sequentially.