Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Futures Fall on Spreading Virus Strains

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Stocks were down Friday morning as one of the new Covid-19 mutations has found its way to California.

Futures on the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

were down 27 points, or 0.1%. The

S&P 500

was pointed to open 0.15% lower, while

Nasdaq Composite

futures were down 0.1%.

The new strain, which originated in South Africa, has spread to California. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s administration did say it has agreed to purchase hundreds of millions of more vaccine doses and will have enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans—the majority of the country—by the end of July. But one of the most pressing concerns for investors is that some vaccines may not adequately immunize against the new strains. That would pose a significant challenge to reopenings and a sustained economic recovery.

Here were some notable stock movers: Friday morning

Expedia

(ticker: EXPE) shares fell almost 2% after the online travel service posted a wider-than-expected net loss. The company said it lost $2.64 per share, against estimates of $1.92. Expedia posted revenue of $920 million, below the forecast of $1.1 billion.

Walt Disney

stock (DIS) rose more than 1% after the company smashed earnings-per-share estimates, posting a result of 32 cents, against estimates of a 41-cent loss. The company said revenue was $16.25 billion, which beat expectations of $15.9 billion.

Restaurant Brands International

(QSR) fell 1% after Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform.

Hyatt Hotels

(H) fell 2% after Berenberg downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold.

Norwegian Cruise Line

(NCLH) fell 2% after Berenberg downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy.

Write to Jacob Sonenshine at jacob.sonenshine@barrons.com