US pre-open: Stock futures fall on disappointing earnings

US stock futures dropped on Thursday as investors weighed a hawkish statement from the Federal Reserve and disappointing earnings from Ford Motor and ConocoPhillips.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 0.2% to 18,360 points, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.1% to 2,157.50. Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.2% lower at 4,700.50.

The Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep rates unchanged at its policy meeting on Wednesday evening. However, the central bank noted that hiring conditions had improved and the economy had been growing at a moderate rate, which was seen as a sign that the Fed was not too worried about the UK’s vote to leave the European Union on 24 June.

The Fed added that near-term risks to the economic outlook had diminished, signalling that interest rates could rise in coming months.

“A striking change to the statement was the acknowledgment of US labour markets strengthening which consequently elevated the bullish sentiment towards the US economy,” said FXTM Research analyst Lukman Otunuga.

“With domestic economic activity expanding at a moderate pace, the Fed may have been provided yet another compelling reason to break the trend of central bank caution.”

The attention now turns to US initial jobless claims data at 1330 BST, which comes ahead of next Friday’s non-farm payrolls report.

The Bank of Japan is also due to announce its policy decision on Friday with analysts expecting further stimulus measures to boost the economy.

On the company front, ConocoPhilips shares fell in pre-market trade after the oil company reported a quarterly loss that was wider than expected.

Ford dropped after posting second quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. gained after the consumer products company revealed an increase in second quarter profit.

Harley-Davidson Inc. edged lower before the opening bell even as second quarter profit and revenue beat expectations.

Facebook advanced as it reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat forecasts.

Alphabet, Amazon.com, Expedia Inc. and CBS Corp. are expected to report earnings after the close.