Futures inch lower on worsening China virus concerns, mixed earnings

This post was originally published on this site

https://i-invdn-com.akamaized.net/trkd-images/LYNXMPEG0M1EK_L.jpg
© Reuters. Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York© Reuters. Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Thursday on rising worries over the coronavirus outbreak in China that prompted a lockdown of two cities in the country, with a mixed bag of results adding to the dour sentiment.

The benchmark closed with tiny gains on Wednesday and well below its record high after attempting to bounce back from sharp losses earlier in the week on concerns about the virus outbreak hitting the global economy.

China put on lockdown on Thursday two cities at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak amid fears the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Casino and hotel operators including Wynn Resorts Ltd (O:), Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd (O:) and Las Vegas Sands Corp (N:), which draw a large portion of their revenue from China, were down between and 2.8% and 4% in premarket trading.

Airlines stocks were mixed, with Southwest Airlines Co (N:) slipping 0.9% after reporting a 21% fall in fourth-quarter profit due to Boeing (NYSE:) 737 MAX costs, while JetBlue Airways Corp (O:) rose 2.6% after reporting a slight rise in quarterly profit.

Consumer products company Procter & Gamble (N:) and insurer Travelers Cos Inc (N:), both members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (), fell about 2% after reporting results.

At 7:32 a.m. ET, <1YMcv1> were down 53 points, or 0.18%. were down 3.25 points, or 0.1% and were up 0.5 point, or 0.01%.

Of the 58 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 67.2% have topped Wall Street’s profit estimates, according to Refinitiv IBES data. On an average, 65% of the companies beat profit estimates.

Texas Instruments Inc (O:) fell 0.7% despite forecasting first-quarter revenue above market expectations, but bullish brokerage actions on Micron Technology Inc (O:) and Western Digital Corp (O:) were set to boost the sector.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.

Add Comment