Top 5 Market Movers to Watch Before the Opening Bell

Stock futures are holding steady Friday after the S&P 500 and Dow broke a four‑day losing streak yesterday. Investors are bracing for volatility as this marks the year’s final quadruple witching day, with a record number of options contracts set to expire.

Shares of Nike are plunging amid renewed concerns about sales weakness in China, raising questions about the company’s turnaround strategy in the region.

Meanwhile, TikTok has reportedly reached a deal to give American investors, including Oracle, a controlling stake an agreement that could ease regulatory tensions over data security.

Finally, FedEx delivered earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, though the company flagged higher costs tied to its grounded MD‑11 fleet.

Stock futures are hovering near unchanged levels this morning following a tech‑driven surge that lifted major indexes yesterday. S&P 500 futures were flat, while contracts tied to the Nasdaq added 0.1% and Dow Jones futures slipped 0.1%. The rally was fueled by stronger‑than‑expected November inflation data, with the Nasdaq leading gains after Micron Technology (MU) posted upbeat earnings.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading around $88,000 after briefly dipping below $85,000 yesterday. Gold futures eased 0.2% to about $4,355 an ounce after hitting a record above $4,400 on Thursday. The 10‑year Treasury yield stood at 4.15%, slightly higher than Thursday’s 4.12%.

Friday is expected to be highly volatile as the year’s last quadruple witching day arrives, with a record number of options contracts set to expire. This event occurs four times annually when stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single stock futures all close simultaneously.

According to Goldman Sachs, more than $7.1 trillion in options are expiring today, including $5 trillion tied to the S&P 500 and $880 billion linked to single stocks, making this one of the largest expiration events on record.

Nike (NKE) shares are sliding Friday even after reporting stronger‑than‑expected quarterly results, with investors zeroing in on the company’s ongoing challenges in China. The athletic apparel giant posted fiscal second‑quarter revenue of $12.4 billion and earnings per share of $0.53, both above analyst forecasts compiled by Visible Alpha.

Despite gains in North America, sales in China fell 17% year‑over‑year, including a 21% decline in footwear sales. CEO Elliott Hill described the company as being “in the middle innings” of its turnaround plan, introduced shortly after he took the helm last year. CFO Matt Friend added that sales headwinds in China are expected to persist through the remainder of the fiscal year. Shares of the Dow component were down 11% in premarket trading.

TikTok has reportedly finalized a deal that places control in the hands of American investors. The group includes Oracle (ORCL), private equity firm Silver Lake, and MGX, a tech investment fund based in Abu Dhabi, who together will hold a 45% stake. Parent company ByteDance will retain 20%, with the remainder distributed among ByteDance‑affiliated investors.

The move follows U.S. legislation requiring TikTok to be sold to American investors to avoid a nationwide ban, with deadlines extended multiple times by President Trump. Both the Biden and Trump administrations raised concerns about the risk of American user data being accessed by the Chinese government.

Shares of Oracle, which had slumped after weak quarterly results last week, rose more than 4% ahead of the opening bell following the announcement.

FedEx (FDX) reported quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, with revenue reaching $23.47 billion and adjusted earnings per share at $4.82, both well above analyst consensus. The company confirmed that its planned Freight business spinoff remains on schedule for June 2026.

However, FedEx noted about $25 million in added costs during November, which are expected to climb through the holiday shipping season. The expenses stem from the grounding of all MD‑11 planes following a UPS crash last month, forcing FedEx to rely on third‑party air cargo providers. CFO John Dietrich acknowledged the timing as “an expensive period to be outsourcing lift.” Shares of FedEx were down 1.5% in premarket trading.