Futures decline as China COVID cases rise; Disney jumps

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures declined on Monday as COVID-19 flare ups in China added to concerns about slowing growth, while Disney shares jumped as investors cheered Bob Iger’s surprise comeback as chief executive.

Walt Disney Co leapt 8.1% higher in premarket trading as Iger’s return less than a year after he retired coincided with the entertainment company’s attempt to boost investor confidence and profits at its streaming media unit.

U.S.-listed Chinese stocks including JD.COM and Alibaba Group were down about 5% and 2%, respectively, with the latest wave of COVID-19 cases testing China’s resolve to stick to adjustments it has made to its zero-COVID policy.

Attention turns to Wednesday’s release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s November meeting after some officials reiterated the central bank’s pledge to continue monetary policy tightening until inflation was in check, in part pushing the three main indexes lower on Friday.

Traders are placing a 19% bet on the Fed hiking its key benchmark rate by 75 basis points in the December policy meeting, with a peak for rates expected in June.

At 5:22 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 92 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 22 points, or 0.55%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 86.75 points, or 0.74%.

(Reporting by Shubham Batra; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)