By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Netflix rallies premarket after earnings report
U.S. stock futures moved slightly lower on Thursday, with
investors waiting for a stream of earnings from Citigroup, Goldman
Sachs and other prominent names before jumping in.
Also ahead are comments from key Federal Reserve members and
manufacturing data.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) slipped 33
points, or 0.2%, to 17,989, while those for the S&P 500 index
(ESM5) lost 3.80 points to 2,096.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100
index (NQM5) fell 4.25 points to 4,417.50.
The small losses marked a slight pullback from Wednesday's
advances (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), when
better-than-expected earnings and a jump in oil prices sent the
benchmarks close to record closing levels. The S&P 500 ended
just 0.5% shy of its all-time close of 2117.39 hit Monday, March 2,
while the Dow average (DJI) missed its record by 1%.
Earnings: Another raft of corporate results could push the main
U.S. indexes back into record territory on Thursday. The financial
sector stayed in the spotlight, with first-quarter results from
Citigroup Inc.(C) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) expected ahead
of the bell.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Citi to report earnings of
$1.39 a share, while Goldman is forecast to post earnings of $4.26
a share.
On Wednesday, Goldman shares closed above $200 for the first
time since 2008, just before the Bear Stearns collapse. Shares
inched 0.5% higher premarket.
Reporting ahead of the bell, UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH) raised
its outlook for 2015 earnings to $6.15 to $6.30 per share. Its
prior outlook was for $6.00 to $6.25 per share. The heath-care
company's shares rose 4% premarket after it released first-quarter
results.
BlackRock Inc.(BLK) reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of
$4.89 a share, beating FactSet estimates.
Cigarette company Philip Morris International Inc.(PM) is
projected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.02 a share.
And after the market closes, American Express Co.(AXP) is
expected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.36 a share, while
Barbie-maker Mattel Inc.(MAT) is expected to post a loss of 9 cents
a share in the first quarter.
Stocks to watch: Netflix Inc. shares(NFLX) jumped 12% ahead of
the open after the online streaming company late Wednesday said it
added 4.88 million subscribers in the first quarter
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-adds-more-users-than-expected-shares-leap-2015-04-15),
better than the 4.05 million additions it had forecast.
SanDisk Corp.(SNDK) dropped 8.3% premarket after the memory-chip
maker late Wednesday reported a drop in profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sandisk-shares-down-after-eps-miss-2015-04-15).
McDonald's Corp.(MCD) was also in the spotlight. The operator of
its chain in Japan said it expects to post deep losses
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-japan-expects-deep-losses-amid-food-scandals-2015-04-16)
in the current fiscal year and that it will close 131 of its
stores.
Fed speakers: Four Federal Reserve speakers are on tap within a
two-hour time frame on Thursday.
First up is Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, scheduled to
speak to business leaders in Palm Beach, Florida, at 1 p.m. Eastern
Time. Lockhart is a voting member of the policy-setting Federal
Open Market Committee this year.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, who is not a voter,
gives a speech on the economic outlook in New York at 1:10 p.m.
Eastern.
At 1:30 p.m. Eastern, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, also
a non-voter, will speak in London.
And finally, Stanley Fischer, the Fed's Vice Chairman, is slated
to talk about inflation at the International Monetary Fund at 3
p.m. Eastern.
The hefty Fed lineup comes after comments on Wednesday from St.
Louis Fed President James Bullard
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-bullard-says-rate-hikes-are-needed-for-coming-boom-2015-04-15)
and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-lacker-strong-case-can-be-made-for-higher-rates-2015-04-15),
when each made a case for raising interest rates soon.
Economic data: Weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern, and are expected to show 281,000 Americans filed for
jobless claims last week. That would be unchanged from the week
before.
At the same time, housing starts for March are due, followed by
the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the manufacturing index to
rise to 6 in April from 5 in March.
Other markets: Asian bourses closed mostly higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), while the major
European indexes were mired in the red
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).
Crude oil (CLK5) pulled back somewhat
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)after Wednesday's
6% rally. Metals rose, and the dollar
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) moved lower.
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