LDN - Business

Futures slightly lower as banks cut oil price forecasts

[July 11, 2017] By Ankur Banerjee

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower on Tuesday ahead of comments from Federal Reserve policymakers as several banks cut their oil price forecasts amid global oversupply.

* U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday, led by gains in technology stocks as investors were optimistic ahead of earnings.

*BNP Paribas slashed its forecasts for Brent by $9 to $51 a barrel for 2017 and by $15 to $48 for 2018. Barclays bank also cut its 2017 and 2018 Brent forecasts to $52 a barrel.

* Crude prices are about 18 percent below their 2017 opening levels despite a deal led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production from January.

* Investors will be looking at second-quarter earnings reports on Friday from big U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

* The dollar hit a four-month high against the yen and bonds and top emerging market currencies were back under pressure on Tuesday, on bets for higher interest rates in a small but growing group of major economies.

* The U.S. Labor Department is expected to issue its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for May that is expected to show a lower reading of 5.950 million job openings from 6.044 million in April. The data is due at 10:00 a.m. ET

* The Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard will speak on monetary policy before a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

* The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will participate in a Town Hall question-and-answer session moderated by Bremer Bank CEO Jeanne Crain in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[to top of second column]

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Fed Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony is the key highlight of this week for investors looking for cues on further rate hikes. She will testify on Wednesday and Thursday.

* A gauge of U.S. small-business confidence fell in June as business owners expressed frustration over gridlock in Washington, according to a National Federation of Independent Business report released on Tuesday.

* Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. soar 37 percent after drug developer said on Monday its experimental drug a rare but deadly lung disease met the main goal in a mid-stage study.

Futures snapshot at 6:50 a.m. EDT:

* Dow e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.04 percent, with 14,431 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.07 percent, with 86,505 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 3.5 points, or 0.06 percent, on volume of 16,949 contracts.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Back to top