MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stock Futures Slip Lower, With GE Earnings On Deck

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Weekly win in sight for major indexes

U.S. stocks looked set for a fall at the open Friday, but were heading for a weekly win, as investors focused on what the next batch of earnings reports could bring.

Corporate results this week have been somewhat of a mixed bag, with disappointment over Philip Morris International Inc.'s update on Thursday triggering losses for stocks. Honeywell International Inc. and General Electric Co. are expected to report ahead of the bell Friday.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 69 points, or 0.3%, to 24,568, while S&P 500 futures shed 5.4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,687.75. Nasdaq-100 futures were 27.50 points lower at 6,753.50, down 0.4%.

Declines in the consumer staples, real estate and technology groups dragged stocks lower Thursday. The Dow closed 0.3% lower at 24,664.89 and moved back into negative territory for the year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dows-early-stumble-pushes-it-back-into-negative-territory-for-2018-2018-04-19). The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished with losses of 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.

For the week, as of Thursday, the Nasdaq is ahead with a gain of around 2%, while the Dow and S&P 500 are set to rise 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.

What's driving markets?

More earnings releases are on the docket Friday, which should be a factor in driving direction, though the reporting season will pick up in earnest with big-name updates next week.

Tech stocks may be in line for another day of weakness, after Asian chip names fell on Thursday's downbeat outlook by Taiwan Semiconductor (2330.TW)(2330.TW). Taiwan Semi shares fell 6%, for their worst day since 2013. Apple Inc.(AAPL) shares shed 2.8% Thursday on those concerns.

Investors will likely keep an eye on the 10- year Treasury note yield , which shot up to 2.930% on Thursday, the highest since Feb. 23, on rising inflation expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-year-treasury-yield-extends-climb-as-earnings-mostly-lift-appetite-for-stocks-2018-04-19). The yield was up 1 basis point to 2.92% on Friday.

There is no top-tier economic data for release in the session. But Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will give a speech on current economic conditions and monetary policy to the Graaskamp Center Spring Board Conference at 9:40 a.m. Eastern Time.

Also ahead is the meeting of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries group and the non-OPEC countries, which will be watched for the prospect of an extension to the output-cap deal. At the last summit of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, or JMMC, in late January, compliance with the current production-cut agreement was pegged at 129%.

Read:Watch for 'violent selloff' to thwart Saudis' wish for $100 oil (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/watch-for-violent-selloff-to-thwart-saudis-wish-for-100-oil-2018-04-19)

What stocks are in focus?

GE(GE) , Honeywell(HON) , SunTrust Banks, Inc (STI) , State Street Corp.(STT) and Schlumberger Ltd.(SLB) are all expected to report earnings ahead of the open.

Check out: GE earnings may bring more questions than answers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/for-embattled-ge-first-quarter-earnings-may-bring-more-questions-than-answers-2018-04-19)

Pivotal Software Inc.(PVTL) priced its initial public offering at $15 a share for shares that will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The cloud-software company is majority controlled by Dell Technologies Inc. and VMware Inc. (VMW) .

See:Pivotal IPO -- 5 things to know about the cloud software company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pivotal-ipo-5-things-to-know-about-the-cloud-software-company-2018-04-20)

What are other markets doing?

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-edge-up-as-commodity-industrial-shares-advance-2018-04-19)European stocks were trading lower, though the FTSE 100 index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-rises-as-pound-falls-on-boe-rate-hike-doubts-2018-04-20) rose as the U.K. pound fell after Bank of Engalnd Gov. Mark Carney dampened expectations for an interest-rate hike in May.

Asian markets finished lower, as chip-related stocks got hit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-sink-with-chip-makers-leading-declines-2018-04-19). Crude oil futures eased as the market awaited OPEC news (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-hold-steady-as-investors-await-opec-meeting-2018-04-20). Gold futures were moving south, whilethe ICE U.S. Dollar Index held largely steady.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2018 05:18 ET (09:18 GMT)

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