Nasdaq futures fall 2% as tech sell-off resumes

(Reuters) – Futures tracking the Nasdaq 100 index fell 2% on Monday, on the first full trading day after a report said SoftBank made significant option purchases during a Wall Street rally since a coronavirus-driven crash in March.

SoftBank spent roughly $10 billion buying shares and sources told Reuters it has spent more buying derivatives in U.S. stocks. The Financial Times first reported on these derivative purchases on Friday.

Wall Street’s tech-fueled rally halted last week, with the Nasdaq plunging 3.3% in its worst week since the height of the pandemic-linked sell-off in March. The benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> ended 2.3% lower, snapping a five-week winning streak.

At 6:01 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 271.75 points, or 2.35%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 20.75 points, or 0.61% and Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 10 points, or 0.04%.

Tesla Inc slumped 11% in premarket trading after the electric-car maker was excluded from a group of companies being added to the S&P 500.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)