US pre-open: Stocks seen a little higher amid earnings deluge

US futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street as corporate earnings came thick and fast.

At 1155 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all up 0.2%.

At the same time, oil prices nudged higher, reversing earlier losses. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.2% to $44.83 a barrel while Brent crude was 0.4% firmer at $46.39.

It was a busy day for corporate news. General Electric reported earnings of 51 cents per share for the second quarter, up nearly 65% on the year earlier and ahead of estimates.

Boeing was likely to be in focus after saying late on Thursday that it will take $2.05bn in charges for second-quarter earnings.

Starbucks was weaker in pre-market trade after the coffee shop chain’s third-quarter revenue released late on Thursday missed analysts’ expectations.

Whirlpool edged lower in pre-market trade despite posting better-than-expected net profit for the second quarter, while Honeywell was in focus after it second-quarter profit rose 7%, topping estimates.

Chipotle Mexican Grill was on the back foot after it reported an 82% decline in second-quarter profit on Thursday.

Advanced Micro Devices surged after saying it swung to a profit in the second quarter and reported its first sales increase in nearly two years.

On the data front, investors will eye the release of Markit’s flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for July.

Next week, the focus will be on the Federal Open Market Committee’s rate announcement on Wednesday. HSBC expects the Fed to leave the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 0.25% to 0.50%.

“We expect the July policy statement will be amended to reflect the latest monthly data showing a strong rebound in employment gains,” the bank said. 2However, we expect that the forward guidance elements of the statement will be unchanged, with the Committee continuing to expect ‘gradual adjustments’ in the stance of monetary policy.”