MA MasterCard Incorporated

By Ellie Ismailidou and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Ford slumps more than 7% as earnings miss view; Facebook extends gains on strong results

Wall Street was on track for small losses Thursday, following disappointing earnings reports from heavyweights Ford and ConocoPhillips and mixed economic data from the U.S.

The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-climb-14000-to-266000-2016-07-28)last week rose from historical lows, while the nation's trade gap widened in June to $63.3 billion, as imports rose faster than exports. Meanwhile, while wholesale inventories were unchanged and retail inventories inched higher.

After trading with a gain of 64 points earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 21 points, or 0.1%, at 18,370, while S&P 500 futures declined by less than 2 points, or 0.1% to 2,159. Nasdaq-100 futures were 5.75 points, or 0.1%, lower at 4,702.

Thursday's moves follow a volatile session Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-rise-led-higher-by-apple-2016-07-27), when stocks closed lower after the Federal Reserve hinted at a September rate increase in its policy statement (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-appears-more-open-to-september-rate-hike-2016-07-27), saying near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished. The S&P 500 index pulled back 2.6 points to 2,166.58, as losses for consumer staple such as Coca-Cola (KO) and utilities weighed on the index.

But on Thursday, market observers were rethinking the Fed language from that meeting.

"The FOMC minutes do appear to have struck a dovish tone with investors despite offering a more upbeat assessment of the economy and highlighting the diminishing near-term risks. This could be helping to lift sentiment ahead of the open today," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst with Oanda, in emailed comments.

Economic data on the calendar include rental vacancy rates for the second quarter at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Stocks to watch: Shares of ConocoPhilips (COP) erased earlier losses to trade up 0.7% premarket, despite the fact that the oil company reported a bigger loss than expected. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/conocophillip-loss-widens-as-revenue-slumps-36-2016-07-28)

Ford Motor Co.(F)slumped 7.2% following an earnings miss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fords-stock-tumbles-after-profit-misses-expectations-2016-07-28), while Dow Chemicals Co.(DOW) inched up 0.9% after earnings and revenue came in better than forecast by Wall Street.

Colgate-Palmolive Co.(CL) rose 0.9% after the consumer products firm said profit rose in the second quarter. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/colgate-palmolive-shares-rise-after-earnings-beat-estimates-2016-07-28)

Harley-Davidson Inc.(HOG) also beat on both profit and revenue (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjY3P-mkZbOAhUDTCYKHVGmBs8QqQIILTAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fharley-davidson-beats-on-earnings-revenue-lowers-2016-motorcycle-shipment-guidance-2016-07-28&v6u=https%3A%2F%2Fs-v6exp1-ds.metric.gstatic.com%2Fgen_204%3Fip%3D205.203.130.22%26ts%3D1469708091514619%26auth%3Dol6dpt42mbijwgltfzjjxqkdfopmhwzt%26rndm%3D0.7774477069103305&v6s=2&v6t=5112&usg=AFQjCNG1hOjwMybsdl4OL7kojLkSNvrvaw&sig2=KsifhvXI0hzUzuk2isGAhQ&bvm=bv.128450091,bs.2,d.dmo), but shares didn't move premarket.

Hershey(HSY) swung to a profit in the second quarter. (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjUqaiykZbOAhWD3SYKHWGQAVsQqQIIMTAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fhershey-co-beats-second-quarter-earnings-expectations-2016-07-28&usg=AFQjCNG6tO8gVxg-k6yqBqTCEYiDGTeLfg&sig2=b8nvyO71rUAmRmkBzu0qXA&bvm=bv.128450091,bs.2,d.dmo)

(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjUqaiykZbOAhWD3SYKHWGQAVsQqQIIMTAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fhershey-co-beats-second-quarter-earnings-expectations-2016-07-28&usg=AFQjCNG6tO8gVxg-k6yqBqTCEYiDGTeLfg&sig2=b8nvyO71rUAmRmkBzu0qXA&bvm=bv.128450091,bs.2,d.dmo)Shares of MasterCard Inc. (MA) climbed 1.6% premarket, after the payments processing and credit card company beat second-quarter profit and revenue expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mastercards-stock-jumps-after-profit-sales-beat-expectations-2016-07-28).

HCA Holdings Inc.(HCA) lost 1.3% after its earnings missed expectations.

Facebook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-posts-huge-revenue-beat-2016-07-27)(FB) rose 3.8% ahead of the bell, adding to Wednesday's late-session gains after soundly beating on earnings and revenue. But the social-media network's Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said the company expects lower ad revenue growth in the next two quarters and just modest growth in its ad load.

Read:Facebook's rapid growth is about to slow down (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebooks-rapid-growth-is-about-to-slow-down-2016-07-27)

Shares of Whole Foods Market Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whole-foods-profit-falls-sales-slip-2016-07-27-18485051).(WFM) looked set to add to a nearly 5% late-session drop. That move came after the upmarket grocer gave a weak forecast for the current quarter as it booked a fourth-straight quarterly profit fall on Wednesday.

GoPro Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gopro-reports-loss-but-results-beat-estimates-2016-07-27).(GPRO) swung to a loss, but results still beat expectations, and shares rose 2.7% in Thursday's premarket session. Groupon Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/groupon-shares-surge-as-results-top-expectations-2016-07-27-174852644).(GRPN) soared 25.4% before the open after posting better-than-expected results late on Wednesday.

Weight Watchers International Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/weight-watchers-boosts-membership-by-nearly-5-2016-05-04).(WTW) shares also exploded overnight, with a 13% gain after increasing its membership rolls for the first time in four years.

After Thursday's close, Alphabet Inc.(GOOGL), Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN), Expedia Inc.(EXPE) CBS Corp.(CBSA) are expected to report earnings.

Read:Alphabet earnings bring concern about Google search growth, revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alphabet-earnings-bring-concern-about-google-search-growth-revenue-2016-07-26)

And: Here's what to expect from Amazon earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-for-in-amazon-earnings-2016-07-25).

Other markets: The Nikkei 225 index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-fall-ahead-of-bank-of-japan-meeting-2016-07-27) slipped 1.1% as investors stayed cautious about a potential stimulus plan. The Bank of Japan will wrap up its policy meeting Friday, and some investors expect it to join forces with the government to announce a big batch of stimulus measures the same day.

As the Nikkei fell, the yen moved up against rival currencies, pushing the dollar to Yen104.70 from Yen105.41 late Wednesday in New York.

Gold prices surged $16.30, or 1.1%, to $1,343 as some investors took the view that the Fed really doesn't have the option to raise interest rates in September.

Check out: Why gold prices spiked after the Fed decision (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-gold-prices-spiked-after-the-fed-decision-2016-07-27)

European stocks struggled amid a batch of big earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-wobble-as-avalanche-of-earnings-reports-rolls-in-2016-07-28).

Read:Do the math--Brexit really is starting to bite at European companies (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-beats-oil-low-growth-as-hot-topic-during-europes-earnings-season-2016-07-28)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-beats-oil-low-growth-as-hot-topic-during-europes-earnings-season-2016-07-28)--Sara Sjolin contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2016 09:01 ET (13:01 GMT)

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