US pre-open: Stocks to edge lower as investors focus on Trump, earnings

US futures pointed to another downbeat session on Wall Street, as investors continued to react to President Trump’s latest policy decisions and as the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting kicked off.

At 1230 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were 0.2% lower.

On Monday, stocks ended in the red after Trump put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on any refugees from Syria and a 90-day ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The ban also applies to anyone with dual nationality including any of those countries.

Remo Fritschi, institutional sales manager at ADS Securities, said: “Wall Street futures are suggesting that yesterday’s slide for equity indices will continue into Tuesday’s session, although we do have a raft of earnings releases slated for today, which could help provide some welcome distraction. Amongst the higher profile names, Exxon and Xerox are both set to report before the opening bell, whilst Apple will update the market after the close and given the fact earnings season has been relatively positive so far, a continuation of this theme may at least put a temporary hold on the sell-off.

“Economic data is rather thinner on the ground today although the consumer confidence reading for January will be closely followed, as again this starts to reflect sentiment under the new presidential administration.”

On Monday, Trump fired US attorney general Sally Yates after she told justice department lawyers not to defend his executive order to ban entry for people from predominantly Muslim countries. The White House said she had betrayed the department by refusing to enforce a legal order that was “designed to protect the citizens of the United States”.

Aside from Trump, investors will be looking ahead to Wednesday’s rate announcement by the Federal Reserve, amid expectations it will leave interest rates unchanged.

On the corporate front, Under Armour tumbled in pre-market trade after its fourth-quarter earnings missed expectations and it announced that chief financial officer Chip Molloy was stepping down.

Harley Davidson dropped in pre-market trade after its fourth-quarter earnings fell short of expectations, while drug maker Pfizer also declined after its fourth-quarter numbers disappointed.

On the upside, luxury fashion retailer Coach was on the front foot as its fiscal second-quarter earnings beat estimates.

More earnings are due from Exxon and Sprint, while technology giant Apple, Electronic Arts and Advanced Micro Devices are slated to report after the close.

S&P Case-Shiller home prices are at 1400 GMT, while the Chicago purchasing managers' index is at 1445 GMT.