US pre-open: Stocks seen slightly higher; dollar gains on Harker comments

US futures pointed to a slightly firmer open on Wall Street as investors awaited some high-profile earnings, while the dollar strengthened.

At 1150 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up 0.3%.

Meanwhile, the dollar gained ground against the pound, underpinned by the latest comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker, who said in a speech on Monday that March was “on the table” for a possible rate hike, depending on the economic data that comes out between now and then. Harker pointed to last week’s strong non-farm payrolls report and continued good news surrounding GDP growth.

The greenback was 0.9% higher versus sterling at 0.809. On Monday, the ICE US Dollar Index was up nearly 1% on Harker’s comments.

Remo Fritschi, institutional sales manager at ADS Securities, said: “The Dow remains just above the 20,000 level and although we have two heavyweight earnings releases – General Motors before the bell and Walt Disney after tonight’s close – the more meaningful direction is likely to come from economic readings. There’s the JOLT job openings report for December due, but given the upbeat employment data we saw last week, this is unlikely to bring anything new to the table. The US consumer credit print for December that’s due shortly ahead of tonight’s close may however prove a little more insightful, as any bigger than expected shortfall here may threaten longer term growth prospects, especially if consumers are belt-tightening.

“As is now the case, we also have the political factor to contend with and indeed events like GM’s results will be under scrutiny to see if there’s any change in strategy being driven by the Trump agenda here.”

In corporate news, retailer Gap was on the front foot in pre-market trade after it said late on Monday that it expects to beat profit targets for the year.

Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox was weaker after it reported a drop in quarterly film revenue on Monday, although earnings beat expectations.

Before the open, General Motors, Michael Kors and Mondelez International were among the companies slated to report earnings.

On the macroeconomic front, US trade balance figures are at 1330 GMT, while JOLT job openings are at 1500 GMT and consumer credit is at 2000 GMT.