By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Analyst: First-quarter results 'have so far been positive on the whole'

U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a roughly flat open Thursday, putting the main gauges on track for a second-straight day of muted action.

The equity market is staying on course for a weekly gain, boosted by enthusiasm over first-quarter earnings.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped by 16 points, or less than 0.1%, to 24,717, while S&P 500 futures shed 2.95 points to 2,706.75. Nasdaq-100 futures shed 8.50 point to 6,835.

On Wednesday, the Dow closed slightly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-set-to-push-further-into-the-green-for-2018-as-more-earnings-arrive-2018-04-18), hurt by a selloff for IBM(IBM)after the tech giant's latest results, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite edged up.

The three gauges are showing year-to-date gains ranging from 0.1% to 5.7%, having recovered this month from their slump in March.

What's driving markets?

First-quarter earnings reports have grabbed investors' attention this week, with Netflix Inc.(NFLX) , Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS)and UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH)among the companies that have posted encouraging results.

See:Goldman was king of the quarter, but Morgan is the one to buy, analysts say (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-was-king-of-the-quarter-but-morgan-is-the-one-to-buy-analysts-say-2018-04-18)

The S&P 500 components are expected to see earnings growth of 17.3% for the period (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hopes-are-high-for-this-earnings-seasonand-that-could-prove-dangerous-2018-04-09), the fastest rate of expansion since 2011.

What are strategists saying?

"With a lack of geopolitical drivers, markets have entered a somewhat quietened period of trading," said Richard Perry, a Hantec Markets analyst, in a note.

"There is increased focus on corporate earnings, which have so far been positive on the whole in the U.S."

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares in Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)rose 2% in premarket action after CEO Jeff Bezos disclosed in an annual letter to shareholders that the e-commerce juggernaut's Amazon Prime subscription program has topped 100 million members worldwide (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-prime-has-more-members-than-costco-bezos-discloses-2018-04-18).

Read:Amazon has 'iron grip' on e-commerce -- analysts react to its big Prime number (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-has-iron-grip-on-e-commerce-analysts-react-to-its-100-million-prime-members-2018-04-19)

And see: Bezos wants Amazon workers to start meetings reading memos 'with the clarity of angels singing' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jeff-bezos-amazon-employees-should-start-meetings-by-reading-memos-with-the-clarity-of-angels-singing-2018-04-19)

Chip stocks lost ground premarket, with the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH)down 1%, in the wake of reports late Wednesday that Facebook Inc.(FB)plans to design chips (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-to-design-its-own-chips-as-part-of-hardware-push-2018-04-18). The effort is part of the social-media company's nascent push to develop more of its own hardware. Facebook shares were little changed ahead of the open.

Procter & Gamble Co.'s stock (PG)tacked on 1% premarket after the seller of Gillette razors and Crest toothpaste agreed to acquire a consumer-health business from Germany's Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) , in a $4.2 billion deal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pg-to-acquire-merck-unit-in-42-billion-deal-2018-04-19) that adds vitamins and food supplements to P&G's lineup of over-the-counter medicines. P&G also posted quarterly results that beat forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pgs-stock-gains-after-profit-and-sales-rise-top-expectations-2018-04-19).

Shares in credit-card company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/american-express-shares-jump-on-companys-better-than-expected-q1-earnings-2018-04-18)American Express Co.(AXP)and aluminum producer (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alcoa-predicts-growing-aluminum-demand-stock-jumps-5-after-earnings-2018-04-18)Alcoa Corp.(AA)look set for gains of 3% or more after they both posted better-than-expected earnings late Wednesday.

Shares in tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc.(PM)added 0.5% after the company posted a stronger-than-anticipated adjusted profit, and steel producer Nucor Corp.(NUE)is also likely to see active trading, as it's among the companies expected to post results before the open.

Which economic reports are on tap?

A reading on weekly jobless claims and an April figure for the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's business-conditions index are slated to hit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with economists polled by MarketWatch expecting 230,000 claims.

Check out: MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

At 10 a.m. Eastern, a March report on leading indicators is scheduled to arrive.

On the Federal Reserve front, Fed Gov. Lael Brainard is expected to speak on regulatory reform at a finance-industry forum in Washington, D.C., at 8 a.m. Eastern.

After the market open, Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chairman for financial supervision, is due to testify about regulatory reform before a Senate committee at 10 a.m. Eastern.

At 6:45 p.m. Eastern, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester should give a speech on the economic outlook and policy at the University of Pittsburgh's business school.

What are other markets doing?

European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-edge-up-as-commodity-industrial-shares-advance-2018-04-19)traded mixed, after Asian markets closed with gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-jump-higher-as-oil-prices-gain-2018-04-18). Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-hovers-at-3-12-year-high-as-investors-look-ahead-to-opec-meeting-2018-04-19)advanced, as gold futures lost ground. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was roughly flat.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2018 07:27 ET (11:27 GMT)