US pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher amid earnings avalance

US futures pointed to a marginally firmer open on Wall Street as investors braced for more earnings reports and some key data releases.

At 1115 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, oil prices were higher, recovering from the sharp losses seen on Wednesday on the back of growing doubts over OPEC’s proposed production cut. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.6% at $49.45 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.8% firmer at $50.39.

Jamieson Blake, retail sales manager at ADS Securities London, said: “Despite earlier concerns, this quarter’s earnings season is shaping up quite well and even though the Federal Reserve rate hike seems inevitable, again this isn’t acting as too much of a drag on sentiment.

“Looking at those due to report, tech plays Twitter, Alphabet and Amazon are all on the slate so this could offer some wider clues as to the health of the digital economy. US durable goods order data is set to be released shortly before the opening bell and this could bring some fresh direction to bear. Again the print is expected to be positive - but only just - so any shortfall here could have the potential to rock sentiment, at least in the short term.”

In corporate news, Twitter racked up healthy gains in pre-market trade as its third-quarter earnings beat expectations, although it did announce it would cut 9% of its global workforce.

Aetna was in the black in pre-market trade after it posted a jump in quarterly profit and revenue, while ConocoPhillips edged higher as it said its net loss narrowed in the third quarter.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors rallied after it posted its first quarterly profit in three years on Wednesday.

On the downside, Colgate-Palmolive was trading lower in pre-market trade after its third-quarter sales missed analysts’ forecasts, while Ford Motor skidded after reporting a drop in third-quarter net income.

After the closing bell, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, and LinkedIn are slated to report.

On the macroeconomic calendar, durable goods orders and initial jobless claims are at 1330 BST, while pending home sales are at 1500 BST.