By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Weekly win in sight for major indexes; Twitter rises after
upgrade
U.S. stock futures were struggling for direction on Friday, but
headed for a weekly win, as investors kept an eye on rising
government bond yields and focused on a fresh batch of
earnings.
Corporate results have largely come in ahead of expectations
thus far, with General Electric beating estimates early in the
session; however, others haven't produced the kind of blowout
results seen necessary to send stocks higher from elevated levels,
and disappointments have been punished, highlighted by Philip
Morris International Inc.'s weaker-than-expected results on
Thursday, which triggered broader losses on Wall Street.
What are the main benchmarks doing?
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 12 points, or less
than 0.1%, to 24,627, while S&P 500 futures added 1.65 points,
or less than 0.1%, to 2,694.75. Nasdaq-100 futures edged 4.75
points, or less than 0.1%, lower at 6,775.25.
Declines in the consumer staples, real estate and technology
groups dragged stocks down 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, 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, as of Thursday's close.
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.
Oil prices shifted lower after President Donald Trump tweeted
that high crude prices "will not be accepted." That came as a
meeting of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries group and the non-OPEC countries reaffirmed a
commitment to keep output limited, in a Saudi Arabia gathering.
Crude-oil futures fell 49 cents, or 0.8%, to $67.80 a barrel.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-hold-steady-as-investors-await-opec-meeting-2018-04-20)
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 are strategists saying?
"We think it's the back up in rates that is causing some second
thoughts, in spite of good earnings so far. The market seems to be
headed for sector rotation as the commodities rally. GE and HON are
among the earnings investors will be in focus today. Bottom Line: A
downward narrow trading range is likely to unfold," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
What stocks are in focus?
GE(GE) shares rose 3% in premarket after reported adjusted
earnings ahead of Wall Street forecasts, and reaffirmed its
guidance. Honeywell International Inc.(HON) rose 2.6% in premarket
after first-quarter results.
Schlumberger Ltd.(SLB) fell 1.1% in premarket. The oil giant
topped earnings estimates
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schlumberger-tops-earnings-estimates-but-expects-oil-sector-to-see-supply-challenges-this-year-2018-04-20),
but said it expects the sector to see supply challenges this
year.
Atlassian Corp. PLC (TEAM) shares fell 12% in premarket trading
after the software maker reported earnings late Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/atlassian-shares-fall-more-than-10-after-earnings-2018-04-19).
SunTrust Banks Inc (STI)(STI)posted a profit rise
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/suntrust-profit-rises-as-costs-fall-2018-04-20),
with shares up modestly in premarket. State Street Corp.(STT)(STT)
earnings are still ahead.
Twitter Inc.(TWTR) shares rose 3% in premarket after MKM
Partners lifted shares to buy from neutral
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-upgraded-to-buy-at-mkm-partners-shares-up-2-in-premarket-2018-04-20-691951429966766).
Opinion:Intel, beware: AMD is a different company than it was
just two years ago
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-beware-amd-is-a-different-company-than-it-was-just-two-years-ago-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 shook off earlier losses to move higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-from-7-week-high-as-consumer-goods-shares-struggle-2018-04-20).
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).
Gold futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wobbly-gold-heads-for-narrow-weekly-drop-as-surging-silver-pulls-back-2018-04-20)
were moving south, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index climbed to an
11-day high
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-climbs-to-11-day-high-boosted-by-rising-treasury-yields-pound-slide-2018-04-20),
boosted partially by richer Treasury yields. The U.K. pound fell
after Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney dampened expectations for an
interest-rate hike in May.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2018 08:08 ET (12:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.