Advertisment
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings along with worries over the deadly coronavirus spreading.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped 79 points, or 0.3%, early Thursday to 29,061.
Futures for the S&P 500 faded six points, or 0.2%, at 3,313.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite fell eight points, or 0.1%, to 9,187.75.
Comcast and Travelers both reported better-than-expected quarterly figures. Comcast shares climbed more than 3% in the pre-market, but Travelers’ stock dipped 2%.
More than 12% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly earnings. Of those companies, about 70% have beaten analyst expectations.
But sentiment was kept in check as the spread of the China coronavirus has placed renewed downward pressure on global equity markets, with the death toll rising to 17 and the World Health Organization set to reconvene Thursday to decide whether to declare a global health emergency.
On Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases of the new strain of coronavirus, which originated in China’s Wuhan city and has now been detected throughout Asia and as far away as the U.S., reached 571.
On the data front, initial and continuing jobless claims figures for January were due this morning.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 sank 1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 1.5%
Oil prices slid $1.06 to $55.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $1.50 to $1,555.20 U.S. an ounce.
