US pre-open: Stocks seen flat ahead of more earnings; Morgan Stanley in focus

US futures pointed to a muted open on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to more earnings, with Morgan Stanley on the slate.

At 1110 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all flat.

On Tuesday, stocks ended in the red, weighed in part by weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings from Goldman Sachs.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "US markets had a wobble yesterday but a better performance from the small-cap end of things points to a growing appetite to buy back into equities. Goldman Sachs’ disappointing earnings clearly shook sentiment, but with real yields picking up again and US economic growth still robust the longer-term picture seems encouraging."

Meanwhile, oil prices were a touch higher, with West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude up 0.4% to $52.61 a barrel and $55.12, respectively. Oil prices had been weaker but recovered after OPEC's secretary general said the organisation was committed to restoring market stability by bringing inventories down to the industry's five-year average.

In currency markets, the dollar was flat versus the pound and the euro at 1.2836 and 0.9319, respectively. It was up 0.4% against the yen at 108.90.

In corporate news, IBM looked set for further losses after it reported a bigger-than-expected decline in first quarter revenue after the close on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Yahoo shares could be in focus after it posted better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday ahead of its acquisition by Verizon Communications.

Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Abbott, and US Bancorp were among the companies scheduled to release earnings ahead of the opening bell.

After the close, earnings are due from American Express, eBay, Qualcomm, and United Rentals.

CMC Markets analyst Colin Cieszynski said: "Action in US stocks moving deeper into earnings season indicates that traders appear to be more in punishing those who fail to meet inflated expectations and taking profits against positive news, than in adding to positions."

The macroeconomic calendar was looking rather light, with only the Fed's Beige Book due after the close of markets at 1900 BST.