US pre-open: Firmer start seen as investors eye inflation data, Goldman earnings

US futures pointed to a firmer open on Wall Street as investors eyed key inflation data and earnings from the likes of Goldman Sachs.

At 1110 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.5% higher.

Meanwhile, oil prices advanced, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.9% at $50.40 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.8% at $51.94.

Paul Webb, chief executive officer of ADS Securities London, said: “Wall Street is eyeing a higher start to Tuesday’s session as investors focus on the run of positive earnings releases, rather than getting overly caught up by the prospect of inflationary pressures. However, with US CPI data due for release before the opening bell and expectations that the print could hit a level not seen in almost two years, this sentiment could yet change.

“We have another slew of earnings releases today including Goldman Sachs before trading gets underway, whilst Intel and Yahoo are amongst the highlights after the close. Those banks reporting so far have by all accounts brushed away the shadow that is low interest rates and with further policy tightening on the horizon, it would seem that fortunes could yet improve further for the sector in the New Year.”

In corporate news, Netflix surged nearly 19% in pre-market trade after its third-quarter earnings and new subscriber numbers beat expectations.

Banking heavyweight Goldman Sachs was slated to report earnings ahead of the open, along with Philip Morris International, Johnson & Johnson and Domino’s Pizza.

Earnings from Intel Corp and Yahoo were due after the close.

On the macroeconomic calendar, the consumer price index is at 1330 BST, while the NAHB housing market index is at 1500 BST.

Societe Generale said: “Fed officials debated the degree of labour market slack at the September FOMC meeting, but they expressed a fair amount of confidence that inflation would gradually move towards their 2% target.

“They are likely to take confidence in that view after this week’s CPI, which will probably show headline inflation jumping from 1.1% in August to 1.5%. Moreover, we expect that the core rate increased by 0.18% month-on-month in September, which would leave the year-on-year rate steady at 2.3%.”