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U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open Wednesday, as investors monitor a flurry of corporate earnings and a fresh batch of economic data
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gave back 20 points, or 0.1%, to 25,086
S&P 500 futures dipped 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 2,808.50, while futures for the NASDAQ composite gained 14.5 points, or 0.2%, to 7,407.25
Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue as trade revenue surpassed expectations. Shares of the banking giant rose more than 2.5% in the pre-market.
U.S. Bancorp also posted a stronger-than-forecast profit, sending its stock up by 0.4%. Abbott Labs is scheduled to report later on Wednesday. American Express, eBay and IBM were all set to report earnings after the close.
So far, the corporate earnings season is gathering steam. With 8.7% of S&P 500 having reported, second-quarter earnings for the broad index are up 21.6% from the year-earlier period.
The moves in pre-market trade come shortly after an upbeat assessment on the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The head of America’s central bank also downplayed the impact of global trade risks on the outlook for future rate hikes.
Looking to data, housing starts and building permits for June are set to be published at around 8:30 a.m. ET.
Overseas, in Japan, markets climbed 0.4%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index faltered 0.2%.
Oil prices fell 52 cents to $67.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $3.90 to $1,223.40 U.S. an ounce.
