US pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher ahead of bank earnings
US futures pointed to a slightly firmer open on Wall Street, as investors awaited the release of earnings from banking heavyweights JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo ahead of the opening bell.
At 1120 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all up 0.2%
Meanwhile, oil prices were weaker amid doubts that planned production cuts will do enough to curb the supply glut, with West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude down 1% to $52.47 and $55.47 a barrel, respectively.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: “There’s been no shortage of catalysts for the markets over the last few weeks, with the Federal Reserve and Donald Trump in particular keeping things interesting, and now we can add corporate earnings season to the mix as the Dow continues to struggle to break the psychological 20,000 barrier.
“Earnings season has possibly come just at the right time as the Trump trade appears to have been exhausted in the absence of any details on his stimulus plans. The Dow has come extremely close to breaking above 20,000 on a number of occasions but it would appear just the idea of ambitious spending and tax cutting plans is not quite enough to take us to the next level. Perfect time then for earnings season, an opportunity for corporates to convince us that these levels are built on strong foundations, not just the prospect of fiscal stimulus.”
Blackrock, PNC Financial Services and First Republic Bank were also slated to report earnings.
Aside from earnings, investors will eye the release of retail sales figures and the producer price index at 1330 GMT, and the Michigan consumer sentiment index and business inventories at 1500 GMT.
Fed speak will also be in focus as Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is due to give a speech about economic mobility in Philadelphia.
In corporate news, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was likely to be in the spotlight as the Italian car maker’s shares bounced back in European trade, having fallen sharply on Thursday after the US Environmental Protection Agency alleged the company had used software to cheat on diesel emissions testing.