U.S. Stock Futures Slip as Investors Eye Earnings, Oil Prices

By Saumya Vaishampayan 

U.S. stock futures fell Thursday, pulling back after two sessions of gains.

S&P 500 futures slipped eight points, or 0.4%, to 2092. E-mini Dow futures declined 61 points, or 0.3%, to 17961, and e-mini Nasdaq-100 futures lost 17 points, or 0.4%, to 4405. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict moves in the stock market after the opening bell.

"It's just some premarket adjusting for the rally that we had yesterday, " said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist of Janney Montgomery Scott, which has $68 billion under management. He noted that some of the factors boosting stocks on Wednesday, such as higher oil prices, reversed Thursday.

Crude-oil futures fell 2.1% to $55.22 a barrel Thursday, pulling back after five straight sessions of gains.

Stocks rose Wednesday, pushing the Nasdaq Composite closer to its all-time high. The Nasdaq gained 0.7% to 5011.02, ending just 0.7% shy of its 15-year-old record of 5048.62. The Dow rose 0.4% to 18112.61 and the S&P added 0.5% to 2106.63.

Stocks have advanced this month, nearing all-time highs. The Dow and S&P have both gained 1.9% so far in April and are approaching records last seen in early March. The Dow is now 1% away from its record of 18288.63, while the S&P is 0.5% below its record of 2117.39.

Earnings reports continued to attract attention.

Citigroup Inc. said its first-quarter profit jumped a bigger-than-expected 21%. Shares rose 1.5% premarket.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its first-quarter profit and revenue rose, with results beating analysts' expectations. Shares added 0.5% premarket.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. lifted its full-year guidance due to a stronger-than-expected 13% increase in first-quarter revenue. Shares rose 2.9% premarket.

Netflix Inc. said Wednesday it added 4.88 million subscribers in the March quarter, which topped Netflix's own forecast for 4.05 million additions. Shares jumped 12% in premarket trade.

Investors also considered two weaker-than-expected economic reports. U.S. housing starts rose 2% in March from a month earlier to an annual rate of 926,000, the Commerce Department said. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected an annual rate of 1.04 million.

Jobless claims rose 12,000 to 294,000 in the week ended April 11, the Labor Department said. Economists had expected 280,000 claims.

European stocks fell, with Germany's DAX declining 1.7% and France's CAC 40 slipping 0.6%. German government bonds hit record highs.

In other markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.879% from 1.900% on Wednesday. Yields fall as prices rise.

Gold futures added 0.4% to $1205.60 an ounce.

Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for Citigroup, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US1729674242

Access Investor Kit for The Dow Chemical Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US2605431038

Access Investor Kit for The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38141G1040

Access Investor Kit for The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US6311031081

Access Investor Kit for Netflix, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US64110L1061

Access Investor Kit for UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US91324P1021