US pre-open: Stocks seen lower as Apple shares drop

US futures pointed to a downbeat open on Wall Street amid declining oil prices and as investors continued to mull over uninspiring quarterly numbers from Apple.

At 1120 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures were 0.6% lower.

Meanwhile, oil prices retreated, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.1% at $49.41 a barrel and Brent crude down 1% at $50.28.

Technology giant Apple was weaker in pre-market trade after it said late on Tuesday that fourth-quarter net income declined 19% to $9bn, on revenue of $46.9bn, down 9%. Although income was a little better than expected, revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler said: “US stocks look set for a lower open with Apple shares in focus after the iPhone-maker reported mixed third quarter results.

“The headline-grabber is that annual sales declined for the first time in 15 years but that belies the optimism of behind Apple forecasting another return to sales growth in the final quarter. The iPhone 7 is a bigger upgrade than the 6S and the nightmare of exploding batteries at top rival Samsung should see Apple enjoy better Christmas sales than last year.”

Elsewhere, Chipotle Mexican Grill fell in pre-market trade after it posted a 95% drop in third-quarter profit, but Twitter advanced following reports Walt Disney has shown renewed interest in the social media group.

Wednesday was set to be a busy day on the corporate earnings front, with Coca-Cola and Boeing due to report before the opening bell, along with Comcast, Southwest Airlines Co and Mondelez International.

After the close, earnings are due from Texas Instruments and Tesla Motors.

The macroeconomic calendar was pretty packed also, with wholesale inventories at 1330 BST, Markit’s flash services purchasing managers’ index for October at 1445 BST and new home sales at 1500 BST. The PMI is expected to nudge up to 52.4 from 52.3 on the month.