FOX: Futures Seek Solid Ground After Tech-Fueled Selloff
FOX Business: The Power to Prosper
U.S. equity futures struggled to seek solid footing on Thursday morning as investors looked to recover from a two-day selloff.
As of 8:10 a.m. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 18 points higher, or 0.10% to 17767. S&P 500 futures gained 1 points, or 0.08% to 2109, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7 points, or 0.15% to 4624.
Today’s Markets
Equity markets looked for solid footing on Thursday, but struggled a bit for direction after a tech-fueled selloff on Wednesday led by juggernauts Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Second-quarter earnings season in the U.S. continued with a slew of reports expected ahead of the bell from Dow components 3M (MMM), Caterpillar (CAT), and McDonald’s (MCD).
Caterpillar booked adjusted quarterly profits per share of $1.27, which were in-line with Wall Street estimates. Revenue, meanwhile, came in at $12.32 billion, below expectations for $12.62 billion. The results sent shares nearly 3% lower in pre-market action. Caterpillar said the decline in its sales figures was due primarily to lower consumer demand in several regions and currency headwinds.
3M’s 2Q results matched expectations. The company reported an adjusted EPS of $2.02 on reveue of $7.69 billion. The company also lowered the top end of its full-year outlook. It now sees earnings in the range of $7.80 to $8.00 a share, compared to $7.80 to $8.10 a share previously. It also warned currency headwinds will likely cut into sales by 6% to 7%.
The world’s biggest burger chain beat the Street in the second quarter, revealing adjusted earnings per share of $1.26 on revenue of $6.49 billion. Wall Street was looking for profits of $1.23 a share on sales of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s said its global same-store sales saw a 0.7% decrease during the reporting period thanks to declining customer traffic in all major markets. As the company continues its turnaround effort, CEO Steve Easterbook said in a statement that in the third quarter, the company continues to focus on strategic improvements, focusing on “the basic fundamentals of running great restaurants.”
Comcast (CMCSA), General Motors (GM), Eli Lilly (LLY), and Dunkin Brands (DNKN) were also among the companies reporting quarterly report cards before the market open.
David Madden, IG market analyst, said despite an upbeat earnings season so far, the markets on Thursday are likely to struggle for direction amid a commodities crunch and lack of other news items.
“A lack of pessimism does not constitute optimism, and that is exactly what equity markets are experiencing today as traders don’t know which way to look,” he remarked. “After several days of declines, traders don’t hold a particularly strong view in either direction…this feels like limbo with the market waiting for positive news to justify a bounce back. If there is none, we can expect to see another move lower.”
The economic calendar in the U.S. was expected to be light with weekly jobless claims due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists forecast first-time unemployment benefit claims to have fallen to 280,000 from 281,000 the week prior.
Meanwhile, commodities saw relief in early action after experiencing steep declines in the previous session due to heightened concerns over when the Fed will likely begin raising interest rates, and as worries over Greece’s future in the eurozone subsided.
U.S. crude oil futures were flat at $49.17 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded to the downside 0.23% to $56.00 per barrel. Gold, which saw a plunge on Wednesday, bounced back and traded 0.84% higher to $1,100 a troy ounce.
In currencies, the euro rose 0.59% against the U.S. dollar. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 0.002 of a percentage point to 2.320%. Bond yields move in the opposite direction of prices.
Elsewhere in the world, overnight Greece’s parliament approved a second round of austerity measures aimed at starting negotiations with the nation’s eurozone creditors for an 86 billion euro bailout package.
The move helped send European markets higher on Thursday. The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks large-cap companies in the eurozone rose 0.03%. Meanwhile, the German Dax declined 0.08%, the French CAC 40 was 0.16% higher, while the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.13%.
Asia markets, meanwhile, also saw positive gains during the session. China’s Shanghai Composite index jumped 2.43%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.46%. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.44%.
