US pre-open: Futures in the red ahead of raft of economic data
US stock futures were in the red for a second consecutive day on Thursday, as investors awaited a raft of data that could exacerbate losses from the previous session.
Alcatel-Lucent
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Colgate-Palmolive Co.
$89.29
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Exxon Mobil Corp.
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11:09 25/04/24
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Time Warner Inc.
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Visa Inc.
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11:04 25/04/24
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was expected to open approximately down 49 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down four and 19 points respectively.
US stocks slid on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left open the chance of an interest-rate hike as early as June following its two-day policy meeting.
The Fed said it anticipates a rebound in the US economy after the sluggish winter months.
However, the latest statement following Wednesday's meeting could indicate that the central bank may want to delay the move, possibly until September.
“The first quarter was certainly one to forget for the US but there were so many temporary factors driving that slowdown and companies will adjust to the stronger dollar in time,” said Oanda’s senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
“It would have been a big mistake for the Fed to push back plans for a hike based on that quarter alone.”
Labour market and inflation are the highlights on the calendar data on Thursday.
At 13:30 BST a weekly report on jobless claims is expected to show that 287,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, compared with 295,000 in the previous seven days.
The employment-cost index for the first quarter, personal income and consumer spending for March are released at the same time, as is core inflation, one of the Fed’s most closely watched gauges.
The earnings season continues with New York Times, Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips set to report ahead of the bell, while Visa, American International Group and LinkedIn will publish results after the close.
Media giant Time Warner declined 0.8% ahead of the bell after reporting early on Thursday that its first quarter profit fell short of estimates.
Oral care and personal care group Colgate-Palmolive shed 0.8% in pre-market trading after reporting a bigger-than-expected drop in first quarter sales, adding it expected double-digit decline in annual earnings per share.
Online review company Yelp plunged 17.6% after reporting late on Wednesday that its first quarter earnings missed expectations.
French telecoms group Alcatel Lucent slid 5.50% ahead of the bell after one its major shareholders criticised the terms of the group buyout by Nokia in the Financial Times.
The dollar was broadly stable against the pound and the yen but lost 0.6% against the euro, while gold futures fell 0.64% to $1,202.20.
Oil prices edged higher, with West Texas Intermediate gaining 1% to $59.17 a barrel, while Brent climbed 0.3% to $66.06 a barrel.