US pre-open: Stocks seen higher as investors eye more earnings
Updated : 11:37
US futures pointed to a positive open on Wall Street, with stocks set to extend gains after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs on Tuesday thanks to some well-received corporate news.
At 1130 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were up 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures were 0.4% firmer.
Meanwhile, oil prices pushed lower as market participants awaited the latest data from the Energy Information Administration later in the day, with West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude down 1% to $52.64 a barrel and $54.90, respectively.
Remo Fritschi, institutional sales manager at ADS Securities, said: “The US quarterly earnings season continues in a generally upbeat mood and this is fuelling fresh optimism on Wall Street. Futures prices are suggesting the Dow is set to build on yesterday’s triple digit rally at the open and although we’re still a few points short of 20,000, it’s not going to take much to topple that psychological level.
“In terms of who is set to report today, AT&T and eBay will likely be the names to dominate the headlines, although it’s unlikely that even a single set of bad numbers here could be sufficient to disrupt the bull rally. It’s worth stressing that we’ve seen these levels pre-market before and nerves have got the better of the market, but anything that serves to even briefly talk bonds down could be sufficient to see the big number fall.”
Investors were looking ahead to earnings from United Technologies, Boeing and Freeport-McMoran ahead of the bell, and AT&T, Ebay and Qualcomm after the close.
Aluminium giant Alcoa racked up healthy gains in pre-market trade after its quarterly revenue late on Tuesday beat estimates and the company sounded an upbeat note on aluminium demand for this year.
Texas Instruments nudged up after posting a jump in fourth-quarter profit and sales late on Tuesday.
Car makers were likely to be in focus after President Donald Trump told bosses of three car manufacturers on Tuesday that he will work to ease environmental regulations and slash corporate taxes.