Stock futures gain slightly with more big earnings ahead

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Feb. 4, 2022.

Source: NYSE

U.S. stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Tuesday as investors prepare for another round of corporate earnings.

Dow futures rose about 50 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%.

Chipotle rose more than 7% in after-hours trading on the back of its strong earnings, while Lyft ticked lower after announcing it had fewer active riders than in the prior quarter.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 370 points, helped by a 7.8% pop in Amgen on the back of its strong earnings report. The S&P 500 also registered a gain, climbing 0.8%. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%.

A handful of strong corporate earnings boosted sentiment on Tuesday, after a slow start to the week. Harley-Davidson, Chegg, DuPont and Centene all rose after reporting better-than-expected earnings.

As of the closing bell on Tuesday, nearly 60% of all S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings and roughly 77% have topped Wall Street’s earnings estimates, according to FactSet.

“We are wrapping up a very solid earnings season,” said Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial. “Sure, we had a high profile blowup at Facebook, but overall we’ve seen impressive news from corporate America.”

High-interest earnings reports on Wednesday include CVS Health, Fox Corp., GlaxoSmithKline and Yum Brands before the bell. Disney, Mattel, MGM Resorts and Uber Technologies will release results after the bell on Wednesday.

Investors are also preparing for Thursday’s Consumer Price Index report, which should give an update on the inflation picture. The Federal Reserve has already broadcasted a monetary policy pivot in order to address the historically high price increases.

The CPI report “has had a big bullseye on it all week and the truth is that headline number will likely be one of the highest we’ve ever seen,” said Detrick. “Now the good news is we are likely close to a major peak in inflation and this number very well could be the peak. We’ve seen some improvements in supply chains lately and this is the first clue we are nearing a peak in inflation as well.”

The inflation data is estimated to show that prices rose 0.4% in January, for a 7.2% gain from one year ago, according to Dow Jones.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html