By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures indicated modest
losses for Wall Street at the open on Friday, with investors set to
wrap up a week of sharp swings in the market with results from
Procter & Gamble Co., the consumer-products giant that makes up
part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Futures, as well as the dollar (DXY), fell overnight following
news late Thursday that a New York doctor has contracted the deadly
Ebola virus, marking the first such case in the city. Recently
heightened concerns about the disease spreading have already put
travel-related stocks under pressure. U.S. Treasurys strengthened
"as [the] Ebola-scare in New York spurred the safe-haven demand for
bonds," drawing the benchmark 10-year yield to around 2.25%
compared with Thursday's close of 2.27%, ICICI Bank wrote in a
note.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) were off
their lows, but still down by 30 points, or 0.2%, to 16,584 and
those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) lost 6 points, or 0.3%,
1,940.10. Nasdaq 100 futures (NDZ4) slumped 14.25 points, or 0.4%,
to 3,991.
Investors may also take on a more cautious approach Friday ahead
of this weekend's release of results from the European Union's
stress tests for banks, as well as next week's Federal Reserve
policy meeting. The Fed is expected to end its third-round of bond
buying that was aimed at supporting the U.S. economy.
"There's just so much potential for disappointment from [the
stress tests], that I believe investors will be a little more risk
averse today," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari UK, in a
note. "Even if most banks pass, a large bank failing the test could
be enough to raise contagion fears again."
The parade of corporate financial results continues Friday with
reports due from Ford Motor Co. (F) and logistics company UPS
(UPS), among others. Strong results from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and
3M Co. (MMM) on Thursday fueled a 217-point leap for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average(DJI). The S&P 500 (SPX) jumped 1.3% and the
Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) bounced higher by 1.6%.
The benchmarks were on pace to rise between 1.8% and 4.6% for
the week, which would break a four-week losing streak.
Data: A report on sales of new single-family homes for September
from the Commerce Department are due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Sales
on a seasonally adjusted annual rate may come in at 455,000.
Earnings: Before the opening bell, Procter & Gamble (PG) is
expected to report per-share earnings of $1.07, higher than $1.05 a
share from a year-ago, according to a FactSet consensus survey. But
revenue is expected to fall to $20.8 billion from $21.2 billion.
P&G's brands include Tide and the Olay beauty-products
line.
Ford (F) is projected to report third-quarter earnings of 19
cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.
UPS (UPS) is forecast to report third-quarter earnings of $1.28
a share.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) is projected to post
third-quarter earnings of 42 cents a share.
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) is likely to post earnings of 75
cents a share.
Stocks to watch: Amazon.com (AMZN) late Thursday reported a
wider-than-expected third-quarter loss and projected sales growth
that fell below expectations.
Microsoft (MSFT) late Thursday posted fiscal first-quarter
earnings of 54 cents a share on revenue of $23.2 billion. Analysts
expected 49 cents a share on revenue of $22.01 billion, according
to analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Other markets: In Asia, the Nikkei Stock Average rose 1% but
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.1%. European stocks moved lower.
Gold futures (GCZ4) were slightly higher, but oil futures (CLZ4)
lost ground.
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