US pre-open: Markets set for low open amid flurry of mixed data

Markets look set for a low open on Friday after mixed earnings came in overnight from well-known US businesses and a looming second revision of US fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP).

Fourth quarter GDP figures are expected to fall from 2.6% to 2.1% as core personal consumption expenditures are also expected to grow from 101.% to 1.4%.

CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler said: “In perhaps an important moment for internet tech stocks, the Feral Communications Commission voted on a bill for net neutrality.

“The advertised benefit of the bill would be to prevent Internet Service Providers from deliberately slowing down or blocking access to certain websites or web services allowing for a more ‘open internet’.”

He added that online service companies that rely on intense bandwidth use would benefit from this; Netflix, Verizon and Comcast among them. “A concern is that if companies are not able to control costs by overcharging the likes of Netflix, the costs will be passed onto consumers and the price of internet packages may go up,” said Lawler.

More data is set to be released on Friday including the preliminary GDP figure, Chicago PMI, home sales and UoM consumer sentiment. Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: “August and November’s growth was strong, and outperformed expectations; in contrast, this month’s figure has been forecast to decline, not the kind of news the hawks will want to hear.”

Oil prices fell early in the day, Brent rose 1.4% to $60.90 a barrel and WTI advanced 1.6% to $48.94 a barrel.

Over on COMEX, gold futures were falling 0.12% to $1,208.70 while the dollar was declining against the pound, the euro and the yen.