MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock-index Futures Edge Higher, On Track For Positive Week As Earnings Season Begins
October 18 2019 - 8:22AM
Dow Jones News
By William Watts, MarketWatch
Coca-Cola shares rise after third-quarter results
U.S. stock-index futures were flat to slightly higher Friday
morning after data showed China's economic growth slowing further
in the third quarter, with investors looking for direction at the
end of a week that saw equities buoyed by a strong start to
corporate earnings reporting season.
What are major indexes doing?
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 21 points,
or 0.1%, at 27,014, while S&P 500 futures rose 2.1 points, or
0.1%, to 3,000. Nasdaq-100 futures were flat at 7,952.75.
Stocks ended with small gains Thursday, with the Dow up 23.9
points, or 0.1%, at 27,025.88 after flipping between positive and
negative territory. The S&P 500 gained 8.26 points, or 0.3%, to
close at 2,997.95, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 32.67
points, or 0.4%, to finish at 8,156.85.
What's driving the market?
Global equities were under pressure Friday after China's
National Bureau of Statistics said growth of the world's
second-largest economy slowed to 6% growth
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-economic-growth-continues-to-cool-off-2019-10-17)
in the third quarter from a 6.2% pace in the second quarter, and
the slowest pace since the early 1990s. The pace was in the middle
of the central government's full-year target for gross domestic
product, as business investment continued to deteriorate.
"Though analysts had expected to see Chinese GDP growth to be
weaker than in the previous quarters the overall expectation was of
an increase of 6.1% with a decline to below 6% at some point next
year," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, in
a note. "However, Friday's data shows that the decline is
accelerating and that trade-war frictions are taking their toll
faster than expected."
While the weaker growth might stir expectations Beijing will be
more amenable to completing a trade deal with the U.S., it's also
likely to reinforce concerns about a slowing global economy.
Stocks were buoyed Thursday after U.K. and European Union
leaders announced a tentative agreement on Brexit, but the deal
faces a significant hurdle
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/johnson-returns-to-london-to-drum-up-support-for-brexit-deal-2019-10-18)
in the U.K. Parliament with a debate and vote set for Saturday.
Read:What a Brexit deal would mean for U.S. stocks and global
investors
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-a-brexit-deal-would-mean-for-us-stocks-and-global-investors-2019-10-17)
A busy week for earnings comes to a close Friday. Shares of
beverage giant Coca-Cola Co.(KO) were 2.4% higher in premarket
action after reporting third-quarter results. Shares of
oil-field-services firm Schlumberger Ltd.(SLB) were also higher
after reporting third-quarter earnings and revenue
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schlumberger-stock-rises-after-swinging-to-large-loss-but-adjusted-profit-and-revenue-beats-expectations-2019-10-18)
that came in above Wall Street expectations.
What's on the economic calendar?
The economic calendar
(http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/calendars/economic) features
September U.S. Conference Board leading economic indicators at 10
a.m. Eastern and a flurry of public remarks by Federal Reserve
officials, including a speech by Vice Chairman Richard Clarida on
the economic outlook and interest rates in Boston at 11:30 a.m.
Eastern.
Ahead of that, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert
Kaplan is scheduled to participate in a moderated
question-and-answer session at a 9 a.m. Eastern event, while Kansas
City Fed President Esther George will deliver a speech on the
economy in Denver at 10:05 a.m. Eastern.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 18, 2019 08:07 ET (12:07 GMT)
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