US pre-open: Stocks seen flat but Amazon and LinkedIn set to rally
Updated : 11:20
US futures pointed to a broadly flat open on Wall Street following heavy losses in the previous session, with strength in Amazon and LinkedIn lending support.
At 1120 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were unchanged.
At the same time, oil prices were firmer, underpinned by a weaker dollar. West Texas Intermediate was up 1% to $46.47 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.5% higher at $48.36.
US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq ending down 1.2% as Apple shares slid after billionaire activist Carl Icahn said he had sold his entire stake in the company amid concerns over China’s attitude towards the tech giant.
In corporate news, Amazon was up a whopping 12% in pre-market trade after the online retailer’s first-quarter profit surged past analysts’ expectations. Profit came in at $513m as sales rose 28% to $29.1bn.
“The company reported an EPS of $1.07 a share for the quarter after expectations were for 57 cents. Even if we use the peak in consensus for Q1 EPS this year back in January of 87 cents, the beat is still impressive,” said Deutsche Bank.
LinkedIn was also sharply higher after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and lifting its 2016 revenue and profit forecast.
Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil were among the companies slated to report earnings ahead of the opening bell.
On the data front, personal income and spending is at 1330 BST, Chicago PMI at 1445 BST and University of Michigan consumer sentiment at 1500 BST.
“Consumer spending has been a consistent weak spot in the US economy over the last 12 months and this trend looks set to continue with personal spending in March only expected to rise 0.2%,” said CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson.
“We finish off the week with the latest April Chicago manufacturing PMI which is expected to slip back to 52.6, though given the weak Dallas and Philadelphia Fed readings seen earlier this month, it would be unwise to rule out a downside surprise.”