US pre-open: Flat start seen as oil prices steady

US futures pointed to a broadly flat open on Wall Street as oil prices hovered around the flat line.

At 1130 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%.

In Europe, the main indices were little changed as investors there awaited the latest rate announcement from the European Central Bank. With the ECB widely expected to leave interest rates and monetary policy unchanged, market participants will be looking for chief Mario Draghi Draghi to reiterate his support for ultra-loose monetary policy measures and commitment to bringing inflation back to target.

At the March policy meeting, the ECB unveiled a package of measures that saw all three main policy rates cut and a cut in the deposit rate to -0.40%. The monthly pace of asset purchases was increased by €20bn to €80bn and the scope of the programme was expanded to include non-financial investment grade corporate bonds.

Draghi also announced a further four TLTROs with four-year maturities, to be launched in June.

Meanwhile, oil prices steadied, having gained earlier after the International Energy Agency said this year would see the biggest drop in non-OPEC production in a generation.

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude were up 0.1% at $44.22 and $45.86 a barrel, respectively.

On the corporate front, investors will eye earnings from General Motors and Biogen ahead of the open.

Qualcomm shares were lower in pre-market trade after the chipmaker’s profit forecast missed expectations, while toy manufacturer Mattel tumbled after saying losses widened in the first quarter.

On the upside, American Express was in the black after its first-quarter numbers beat analysts’ expectations.

On the economic calendar, the Philadelphia Fed survey and initial jobless claims are due at 1330 BST.

Societe Generale said: “Initial jobless claims could rise only slightly to 260k for the week ended April 16, a level that we very much still see as consistent with healthy labour market conditions.

“The Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey will probably come off its big bounce in February, to 8.8 in March.”