LDN - Business

Futures flat as earnings season gathers pace

[January 24, 2017] By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors assessed quarterly earnings reports, while seeking more clarity on President Donald Trump's economic policies.

* Trump's focus on protectionism over fiscal stimulus since taking office on Friday has disappointed investors, who had driven up Wall Street to record highs following his election.

* Wall Street dipped on Monday after Trump warned of border taxes and signed orders to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific trade deal.

* The dollar turned positive after falling to a seven-week low on Tuesday. Oil prices were flat, while gold declined for the first time in four days.

* Data due on Tuesday includes a report on existing home sales, which likely fell to 5.52 million in December from 5.61 million the previous month.

* Shares of General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler rose in premarket trading. Trump is expected to meet the executives of the auto makers to discuss U.S. jobs.

* Johnson & Johnson dropped 2.5 percent to $111.11 after the company reported a quarterly revenue that missed analysts' expectations.

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Apple was off 0.71 percent on a Barclays downgrade to "equal-weight" from "overweight". Of the 49 brokerages covering the stock, only eight have a "hold" or equivalent rating.

* Yahoo rose 2.9 percent to $43.54 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue and said the sale of its core internet business to Verizon <VZ.N> should be completed in the second quarter.

Futures snapshot at 6:54 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.02 percent, with 17,054 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.25 points, or 0.01 percent, with 76,667 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 1.25 points, or 0.02 percent, on volume of 14,557 contracts.

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

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