US pre-open: Stocks seen touch weaker after Nice attack; data deluge eyed

US futures pointed to a slightly weaker open on Wall Street following a terror attack in France that has left at least 84 people dead.

At 1100 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures were off 0.2%.

Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “US stocks look set for a lower open, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to pull back from a record high ahead of the release of earnings from Wells Fargo and Citigroup as well as a barrage of US economic data including retail sales, inflation, industrial production and consumer confidence.”

At the same time, oil prices were weaker amid worries about a supply glut. West Texas Intermediate was down 1% to $45.24 a barrel and Brent crude was off 1% at $46.92.

On Thursday night, a man drove a truck into a crowd of revellers who were celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, leaving at least 84 people dead and around 18 in critical condition. The attacker – a 31-year old French-Tunisian who was known to police but not on the terrorism watch list – was killed, and President Francois Hollande has now extended the state of emergency by a further three months.

Meanwhile, market participants were also digesting some data out of China. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the world's second-largest economy expanded by 6.7% on the year, steady from the previous quarter and a touch ahead of economists’ expectations of 6.6% growth.

Compared to the first quarter, gross domestic product was up 1.8%. The Chinese government has a growth target of 6.5% to 7% for this year.

“We can thank the continuous efforts by the People’s Bank of China, which introduced various different stimulus measures to achieve that figure,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets.

Other data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed industrial production in China rose 6.2% in June from a year earlier, up from 6.0% growth in May.

Meanwhile, fixed-asset investment rose 9% year-on-year between January and June down from 9.6% growth in the first five months of the year.

Retail sales were up 10.6% in June compared to the year before, up from a 10% rise in May.

On the corporate front, earnings from banks Wells Fargo, Citigroup and US Bancorp will be scrutinised, particularly after JPMorgan Chase’s stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Investors will also be watching out for a deluge of data, with Empire manufacturing, the consumer price index and retail sales all out at 1330 BST. US industrial production is at 1415 BST, while business inventories and University of Michigan consumer sentiment are at 1500 BST.