US pre-open: Futures mixed ahead of preliminary GDP figures

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Wednesday as market participants continued to digest Q3 earnings and awaited a fresh GDP reading.

As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.17%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.13% and 0.25% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 154.52 points lower on Tuesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Wednesday's primary focus will likely be Q3 earnings from a number of big-name US firms, with Meta Platforms and Microsoft set to report after the close.

Elsewhere, Google parent company Alphabet exceeded expectations with strong quarterly revenue growth in its cloud unit, while chipmaker AMD traded lower on the back Q4 revenue guidance that failed to impress the Street.

Eli Lilly shares headed south prior to the opening bell after sales of its obesity drug fell well and truly short of expectations, fast food giant Chipotle traded lower after weaker-than-expected Q3 revenues and disappointing same-store sales, and trade bellwether Caterpillar was in the red after posting weaker-than-expected earnings.

On the macro front, a preliminary reading of Q3 gross domestic product will also draw an amount of investor attention on Wednesday, with analysts expecting to see GDP grow at a 3.1% annualised pace – just 0.1 percentage point higher than in Q2.

In other data news, US mortgage applications eased by 0.1% week-on-week in the seven days ended 25 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the lowest reading since July. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell by 6%, offsetting a 5% increase in applications to purchase a home.

Still to come, ADP employment change figures and pending home sales will follow at 1400 GMT.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com