US pre-open: Futures mixed as tech stocks weigh on Nasdaq

Wall Street futures were pointing to a mixed open ahead of the bell on Monday following a losing week for major indices amid worries about the new Covid-19 omicron variant.

As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures had the indices opening 0.57% and 0.23% higher, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.36% in the red.

The Dow closed 59.71 points lower on Friday after the Labor Department detailed slower-than-expected job growth in its November non-farm payrolls report.

Tech shares were putting pressure on the Nasdaq Composite prior to the open, with electric carmaker Tesla weighing on the index more than any other, after a sharp drop in the value of bitcoin over the weekend and a move by investors to move away from tech stocks with high valuations.

Bitcoin, which traded at around $57,000 on Friday morning, plunged to roughly $43,000 on Saturday before clawing back some of its losses on Sunday to about $47,700.

Also in focus, the Covid-19 omicron variant has now been discovered in at least 15 US states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's director Dr Rochelle Walensky.

No major corporate earnings or data points were scheduled for release on Monday.