Futures flat as Trump tax plan awaited

[April 26, 2017]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday amid a flood of corporate earnings, while investors awaited President Donald Trump's tax plan.

* Trump is proposing to slash the corporate income tax rate and offer multinational businesses a steep tax break on overseas profits brought into the United States, officials said late on Tuesday.

* The plan could provide a shot in the arm to the post-election rally, which has stalled in recent weeks over the lack of clarity on Trump's pro-growth policies and the failure of a healthcare reform bill.

* A flurry of quarterly earnings could also provide fresh catalysts for trading. Shares of United Technologies, Nasdaq Inc and Northrop Grumman were up in premarket trading after the companies reported a rise in quarterly profits.

* Boeing,  Amgen and PayPal are scheduled to report results on Wednesday.

* Nearly 78 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported results until Tuesday have topped earnings expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Overall profit for the index is estimated to have risen 11.4 percent - the best since 2011.

* Wall Street is coming off its best two-day gain of the year after a favorable French election outcome and strong earnings boosted investor optimism and sparked demand for risk assets.

* The Nasdaq Composite index breached the 6,000 mark for the first time ever on Tuesday, while other indexes came within spitting distance of their peaks.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Wynn Resorts jumped 5.7 percent to $125 after the casino operator reported better-than-expected revenue from its new casino in China's gambling territory.

* United States Steel  tumbled nearly 17 percent to $25.87 after the steelmaker's profit and revenue missed analysts' expectations.

* Twitter jumped 11 percent after reporting its strongest growth in monthly active users in more than a year and a quarterly profit that blew past expectations.

Futures snapshot at 6:59 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were up 29 points, or 0.14 percent, with 18,754 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis  were down 1.25 points, or 0.05 percent, with 89,250 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 1.25 points, or 0.02 percent, on volume of 16,068 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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