By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
IMF cuts U.S. growth view; Google parent Alphabet, Halliburton
to report
Wall Street stocks looked set for a slightly lower open on
Monday, with future easing as investors braced for an important and
busy week for earnings, and global markets pulled lower.
This week's packed earnings reports schedule starts with
Halliburton Co. and Alphabet Inc. on Monday, while a meeting of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also in the
spotlight.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 15 points, or less
than 0.1%, at 21,503, while S&P 500 futures edged down 2.40
points, or 0.1%, to 2,467. Nasdaq-100 futures eased 6.75 points, or
0.1%, at 5,912.25.
Stocks finished lower on Friday. For the week, the Dow dipped
0.3%, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index posted gains
of 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
Setting the tone, stocks fell in Asia and Europe, which could be
weighing on U.S. action some, said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at
IG, in a note. A sharp deterioration in the German DAX (DAX), off
0.5% and the FTSE 100 , down 0.9%, may be hard for traders to
ignore, he said.
"The past 11-days have seen the Dow trade within a 220-point
range, which coincides with the beginning of U.S. earnings season.
This recent consolidation appears to be a recognition that we will
see the focus shift away from the central banks and towards sector
specific considerations in the U.S.," he said.
While the earnings season is far from finished, politics could
move into the forefront for investors on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump will make a statement on health care
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-to-make-statement-on-healthcare-monday-reports-2017-07-24)
at 3:15 p.m. Eastern, according to media reports. Republicans were
forced to shelve a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare
simultaneously last week due to lack of support. Trump warned GOP
lawmakers in a post to Twitter late Sunday that they needed to
support his efforts on the health care front:
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/889274373689028609)
But Trump's inability to get his party's health-care plans
pushed through so far have cast doubt on his larger plans over tax
reforms, which investors are counting on to support economic growth
and keep stocks moving higher.
Also not helping appetite for riskier assets such as stocks, the
International Monetary Fund
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imf-cuts-us-growth-forecast-for-2017-2018-2017-07-24)lowered
its U.S. economic growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018, blaming
less-expansionary-than-expected fiscal policy.
Read:As GDP will show, U.S. economy is sticking to the same
track
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-gdp-will-show-us-economy-on-same-track-2017-07-23)
The Federal Open Market Committee will meet this week, though
most aren't expecting a policy move from Federal Reserve
members.
In a fairly busy week for data, the Markit manufacturing and
services flash Purchasing Managers Indexes for July will be
released at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, and existing-home sales for June
is due at 10 a.m. Eastern.
OPEC in the spotlight: Oil prices bounced around, but last
traded around 1% higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-steady-with-all-eyes-on-opec-meeting-2017-07-24)
as investors watched comments coming from an Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting. Many are hoping the cartel
will make a decision to include Nigeria and Libya in its
production-cap deal.
The influential Saudi Arabia oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, said
that deeper production cuts weren't among the items discussed at
the meeting, according to reports on Twitter. He also said that
compliance with quotas agreed in the OPEC-led output cap deal was
strong, but that some countries continued to lag, reports said.
Stocks to watch: Shares of WebMD Health Corp.(WBMD) shot up 17%
before being halted on news that KKR & Co. will by the health
care information provider in a deal valued at $2.8 billion, or
$66.50 a share in cash, a 20.5% premium to Friday's closing price
of $55.19.
On the earnings docket, shares of Halliburton (HAL) rallied more
than 3% after the oil-services company beat profit and sales
forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/halliburtons-stock-rallies-after-profit-revenue-beat-expectations-2017-07-24).
Hasbro Inc.(HAS) slipped after the toy maker posted revenue that
fell short of forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hasbro-earnings-beat-forecasts-revenue-falls-short-2017-07-24).
VFC Corp.(VFC) shot up 2.3% after lifting full-year guidance.
Hibbett Sports Inc. (HIBB) shares slip 16.5% in premarket trade
Monday, after the sports retailer warned that it expects
second-quarter same-store sales to fall
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hibbett-sports-issues-profit-warning-citing-very-challenging-sales-trends-2017-07-24).
After the close, Google Inc. parent Alphabet(GOOGL) is due to
report.
Read:Alphabet earnings: A $2.74 billion hit for Google,
potential YouTube results for investors
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alphabet-earnings-a-274-billion-hit-for-google-potential-youtube-results-for-investors-2017-07-21)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alphabet-earnings-a-274-billion-hit-for-google-potential-youtube-results-for-investors-2017-07-21)Shares
of Blue Apron Holdings Inc. rallied 8% in premarket after RBC
Capital initiated the company at outperform. Other banks and
research houses were also initiating coverage on the
ingredient-and-recipe meal kit service Monday. Blue Apron has been
the worst-performing IPO of 2017
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/blue-apron-is-the-worst-performing-large-ipo-of-2017-2017-07-18).
Read: At least 9 dead after overheated tractor-trailer found
outside Texas Wal-Mart
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trafficking-suspected-after-8-people-found-dead-30-injured-in-walmart-parking-lot-2017-07-23)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trafficking-suspected-after-8-people-found-dead-30-injured-in-walmart-parking-lot-2017-07-23)Other
markets: The dollar attempted to gain a footing on Monday, with the
ICE U.S. Dollar Index rising to 93.95 from 93.85 late Friday. The
dollar has sagged on sluggish U.S. economic data, dropping 1.4%
last week.
Dollar weakness dragged stocks in Japan and Australia lower on
Monday, as currencies in those countries gained against the
greenback. European stocks pulled back
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-pull-back-as-auto-makers-oil-producers-struggle-2017-07-24)
as auto makers and oil producers struggled.
Gold prices inched up $2.10 to $1,257 an ounce.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 24, 2017 07:52 ET (11:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024