US pre-open: Stocks seen higher as earnings roll in; dollar hit by Mnuchin comments

US futures pointed to a slightly firmer open on Wall Street on Wednesday as earnings rolled in from the likes of General Electric, with the dollar under pressure.

At 1210 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% higher.

In currency markets, the dollar continued its slide as sterling hit a post-Brexit high against the US currency following the release of solid UK employment data.

The greenback was down 0.7% against the pound to 0.7093, also weighed by comments from Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, who said at a press conference in Davos that a weaker dollar is good for the country's economy "as it relates to trade and opportunities".

The US currency also suffered losses against the euro, which rose to a three-year high as IHS Markit's composite flash purchasing managers' index for the eurozone rose to 58.6 in January, marking highest level since June 2006.

David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB, said: "The US dollar has fallen back across the board this morning following a press briefing from US Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin in which he welcomed the depreciation seen in the world’s reserve currency over the past 12 months. The remarks were made upon his arrival at the World Economic Forum in Davos and have seen an immediate market reaction with a trade-weighted index of the the US dollar falling to its lowest level since 2014.

"Once the pandemonium of Trump’s 2016 election victory had subsided, many believed the US dollar was set for a prolonged period of appreciation with long USD calls almost unanimous amongst money managers. Despite a continued tightening of monetary policy from the Fed, with three rate hikes in 2017, the greenback was the worst performer amongst G10 currencies and has now dropped more than 10% since Trump’s inauguration."

In corporate news, Qualcomm was likely to be under pressure at the open after the European Commission fined the chip maker €997m, saying it paid billions of dollars to Apple, a key customer, so that it would not buy from rivals.

General Electric rose in pre-market trade despite its fourth-quarter earnings falling short of expectations at the top and bottom line.

Comcast was likely to be in focus after its quarterly earnings beat expectations, while United Technologies was also likely to be active after its fourth-quarter revenue surpassed forecasts.

Still to come, Ford Motor is due to report earnings after the close.

On the data front, Markit's composite, manufacturing and services indices are due at 1445 GMT, while existing home sales are at 1500 GMT.