US pre-open: Stocks seen slightly lower after Trump comments; banks eyed

US futures pointed to a slightly weaker open on Wall Street on Thursday as investors digested comments from Donald Trump that sent the dollar tumbling, ahead of earnings from banking heavyweights.

At 1100 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all down 0.2%.

Trump said on Thursday that the dollar was "too strong" and that he wants interest rates to remain low. His comments came after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said earlier in the week that a neutral stance on US monetary policy would be appropriate.

He told The Wall Street Journal: "I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that's my fault because people have confidence in me. But that's hurting - that will hurt ultimately."

He added: "It's very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency."

His comments hit the dollar, with the dollar index dropping 0.5% in less than 15 minutes immediately after.

However, the greenback was recovering in early trade, up 0.1% versus the pound at 0.7974 and 0.3% against the euro at 0.9396. It was flat against the yen at 109.94, having fallen to a five-month low following Trump's comments.

TopTradr analyst Tony Cross said Trump's comments appeared to have the desired effect on the currency, with the greenback tumbling against the euro at the start of the Asian session.

"There’s some speculation that the downside pressures may not be sustainable from jawboning alone, but combined with the current swing into risk-off trades and the questions that are mounting over the new US administration’s ability to deliver against campaign promises and the sell-off certainly looks warranted. As we move into next week, the looming French election may take the shine off the euro, but the theme of dollar weakness could run for a little while longer yet."

At the same time, geopolitical concerns continued to rattle investors amid mounting fears of a new weapons test by North Korea as a US carrier group sails towards the area.

JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will kick off the first-quarter earnings season, with results from the banking giants due ahead of the market open.

On the data front, the producer price index and initial jobless claims are at 1330 BST, while University of Michigan consumer sentiment is at 1500 BST. Cross said there was a risk PPI could dip into negative territory.

"Again this would heap pressure on the Trump administration - and arguably call into question the Federal Reserve’s ability to keep hiking interest rates over the coming months."