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 51 points, or 0.3%, to 17971, and e-mini Nasdaq-100 futures lost 18 points, or 0.4%, to 4404.

"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.

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.

Crude-oil futures fell 1.8% to $55.34 a barrel Thursday, pulling back from five straight sessions of gains.

Investors focused on earnings reports Thursday.

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 3.3% 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.

Economic data will also attract attention. Jobless claims in the most recent week are expected to tick down to 280,000 from 281,000 in the previous period, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Housing starts are expected to rise 15.9% in March to an annual rate of 1.04 million.

European stocks fell, with Germany's DAX declining 1.6% 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 1.873% from 1.900% on Wednesday. Yields fall as prices rise. Gold futures added 0.4% to $1206.00 an ounce.

Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at [e-mail]

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