US pre-open: Futures point to losses at the bell ahead of earnings deluge
US stocks looked set to slide at the open with an avalanche of corporate earnings and uncertainty around the potential fallout from stricter US sanctions on Iran in focus.
As of 1200 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.07% at 26,595, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were down by 0.09% and 0.08%, respectively.
The Dow looked set to open 18 lower following news that the US would remove exceptions allowing eight countries to purchase oil from Iran without the threat of sanctions.
Waivers for China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey will expire in May, meaning each nation could face US sanctions if they continue to do business with Iran.
Trump's decision is intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, blocking the government from its main source of revenue, to the tune of approximately $50bn annually.
Commenting on that decision, analysts at Barclays Research said recent developments posed a "material" upside risk to their forecast for Brent crude oil to average $70 a barrel in 2019, but not for the longer term, given the increased responsiveness of non-OPEC and US tight oil output to any shortfall in supplies.
However, they also now saw an increased risk of conflict in the Middle East.
Oil prices had jumped more than 2% during the previous session, hitting their highest level in six months amid intensifying concerns about global supplies.
As of 1200 BST, Brent crude was trading 0.39% higher at $74.33, while West Texas Intermediate was up 0.64% firmer at $65.97.
Elsewhere, Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped five points since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report into the 2016 election, equaling his presidency's low-water mark.
Only 39% of voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president, down from the 44% in last week's poll and tying his previous lowest-ever approval rating recorded in mid-August 2017 following the outbreak of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
On the data front, the FHFA house price index for March was set for release at 1400 BST, while new home sales figures and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing sector index were set to follow at 1500 BST.
On the corporate front, Hasbro shares shot up in premarket trading after seeing an uptick in franchising revenues, while Centene climbed thanks to improved guidance on the back of a Q1 profit and revenue beat.
Still to come, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin and Verizon will report their latest figures just ahead of the opening bell, while eBay and Texas Instruments will release their Q1 earnings after the close.
Markets.com analysts Neil Wilson said: "Today marks the start of an earnings deluge on Wall Street as the season gets into full swing. Boeing, Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Microsoft and around 150 more S&P 500 companies are reporting this week.
"So far earnings season has been pretty positive – three-quarters of companies reporting so far beating expectations, albeit those expectations were not very high in the first place. You’d have to sum it up as a very low bar cleared."