Meta plunges, mega mining merger revealed

Megacap Meta revived Big Tech jitters on Wall St overnight as its pumped-up stock balked at an ostensibly decent earnings update late Wednesday - but the mining sector was abuzz about BHP's possible $39 billion mega bid for Anglo American. Either way, the Meta retreat has dragged Wall St stock futures back down about 0.5-1.0% ahead of Thursday's bell and ups the ante as the 'Magnificent 7' reports keep rolling in. With almost a third of the S&P500 reported already, nearly 80% have beaten estimates and reported earnings growth has picked up close to 7% - back to where consensus forecasts for the first quarter were at the start of the year.