Global stock markets were steady Thursday as investors focused
on the latest batch of corporate earnings and awaited a first
reading for second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product.
European stocks rose slightly in recent trading, while U.S.
stock futures hovered near the flat line. The Stoxx Europe 600
recently rose 0.5%. In the U.S. futures contracts showed the
S&P 500 opening 0.1% lower. Futures don't always accurately
predict moves after the opening bell.
At 8:30 a.m. ET, the government is scheduled to release the
first reading on economic growth in the second quarter. The economy
is expected to expand at an annual rate of 2.7% in the second
quarter, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street
Journal. In the first quarter, GDP, or the broadest sum of goods
and services produced across the economy, contracted at a rate of
0.2%.
Wednesday's U.S. Federal Reserve policy statement, in which it
didn't give a clear signal on when it would raise interest rates,
put data back in focus.
"The FOMC didn't produce a clear signal on when the first rate
hike will be," said Craig Bishop, lead strategist of U.S.
fixed-income strategies at RBC Wealth Management. "Between today's
GDP number and the jobs numbers we get a week from tomorrow, that
will be key to what the Fed does or doesn't do."
Many investors had expected the Fed to raise interest rates as
early as September but Wednesday's statement from the central bank
flagged concerns that inflation remains too low.
U.S. stocks rose Wednesday in response to the Fed statement,
with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
advancing 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite closing up 0.4%. On
Thursday, however, futures contracts showed the S&P 500 opening
slightly lower. Futures don't always accurately predict moves after
the opening bell.
In corporate news, earnings season continued to move individual
stocks.
Procter & Gamble Co.'s core earnings topped consensus views
but guidance was underwhelming. Shares fell 2.6% premarket.
Facebook Inc. shares fell 2.5% premarket after the social
networking company posted a 39% increase in quarterly revenue but
said expenses grew faster than revenue.
Shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. tumbled 14% premarket after
the natural-foods grocer said sales growth slowed sharply last
month.
In Europe, the earnings season was also in sharp focus.
Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC rose after the lender
reported a rise in second-quarter net profit.
Shares in Royal Dutch Shell PLC rallied too. The oil company
reported a sharp fall in second-quarter profit and said it would
cut 6,500 jobs, illustrating the strain that sustained low oil
prices are putting on large producers.
In Asia on Thursday, the Shanghai Composite closed down 2.2%
after snapping a three-day losing streak on Wednesday, while the
Nikkei Stock Average ended the session up 1.1%, helped by a weaker
yen.
Elsewhere in currency markets, the euro edged lower against the
dollar to $1.096. In debt markets, the yield on the benchmark
10-year U.S. Treasury note was at 2.31% compared with 2.279% on
Wednesday.
In commodity markets, crude-oil futures rose 0.4% to $48.99 a
barrel. Gold lost 0.7% to trade at $1,084.50 per ounce.
Write to Josie Cox at josie.cox@wsj.com and Corrie Driebusch at
corrie.driebusch@wsj.com
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