US pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher ahead of data deluge

US futures pointed to a marginally higher open on Wall Street ahead of some key data releases and more earnings reports.

At 1135 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% firmer.

Meanwhile, oil prices retreated following a strong rally in the previous session after data from the US Energy Information Administration showed a surprise 5.2m drawdown in crude inventories to 468.7m barrels last week and amid growing expectations of an OPEC-led production cut.

West Texas Intermediate was down 1% to $51.11 a barrel and Brent crude was off 0.9% at $52.19.

Remo Fritschi, institutional sales manager at ADS Securities London, said: “With no curve balls coming out of last night’s final debate in the run up to the US election, Wall Street is eyeing a quiet start to Thursday’s trade. Earnings season continues to impress too, helping buoy sentiment although the question remains as to just when the Federal Reserve will see fit to hike interest rates. We have existing home sales data due for release shortly after the opening bell and this could throw some fresh light on the situation as any signs of a slow down here may serve to quieten the interest rate hawks a little, in turn providing yet more support for stocks.

“BNY Mellon, PayPal and Microsoft are amongst some of the highlights on the earnings calendar today and with investors becoming conditioned to good news in this arena, any shortfalls could be met with a marked degree of disappointment.”

On the data front, investors will watch out for a slew of releases including initial jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed survey at 1330 BST, and leading indicators and existing home sales at 1500 BST.

In corporate news, electric car maker Tesla Motors was weaker in pre-market trade after it announced late on Wednesday that all its new cars will have self-driving hardware, but this won’t work straight away.

Dunkin’ Donuts operator Dunkin’ Brands was likely to be in focus after its third-quarter earnings beat expectations, but revenue fell short.

American Airlines, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Verizon Communications were among the companies slated to report before the open.