Wall Street set to open
flat amid earnings rush
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[February 08, 2017]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan
(Reuters) -
U.S.
stocks looked set to open little changed as investors assessed a flood
of quarterly earnings, a day after the Nasdaq closed at a record high.
More than half of the S&P 500 companies have reported results so far,
with their combined earnings estimated to have risen 8.2 percent - the
most in nine quarters.
Key companies scheduled to report results on Wednesday include life
insurer Prudential Financial <PRU.N> and grocer Whole Foods <WFM.O>.
"The market is poised to take its cue from earnings, which, by the way,
have been upbeat and are probably a solid reason for the market's
resilience," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard
Financial wrote in a note.
Oil prices fell 0.3 percent, extending losses to the third day as an
increase in U.S. crude inventories and a slump in Chinese demand implied
that global oil markets remain oversupplied despite OPEC-led efforts to
cut output. [O/R]
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The dollar edged up, but gold rose to a three-month high as political
uncertainty ahead of European elections kept the safe-haven asset in
favor.
Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down 2 points, or 0.01 percent at 8:18 a.m. ET
(1318 GMT), with 20,765 contracts changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were down 2.25 points, or 0.1 percent, with
110,623 contracts traded.
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![](../images/020817pics/busine49.jpg)
Traders work on the
floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the
opening bell in New York, U.S., February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas
Jackson
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Nasdaq
100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 1 point, or 0.02 percent, on volume of 20,365
contracts.
Among stocks, Gilead <GILD.O> dropped 6.1 percent to $68.70 in premarket trading
after the drugmaker projected disappointing sales for its hepatitis C drugs this
year.
Cognizant <CTSH.O> rose 5.9 percent to $56.95 after the IT services provider
named three directors to its board and announced a $3.4 billion share buyback
program, bowing to pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Management.
U.S. carrier Alaska Air <ALK.N> rose 3.2 percent to $97.16 after the company
reported a 10.7 percent jump in quarterly revenue.
No key economic report is scheduled for the day.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
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