Futures dip as big banks kick off earnings season

[October 12, 2017]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - Futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Thursday, with JPMorgan reporting its quarterly results, kicking off the earnings season in earnest.

* JPMorgan <JPM.N>, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, dropped 0.40 percent after posting a rise in better-than-expected quarterly profit, but a slump in bond trading clouded its loan growth and benefits from higher interest rates.

* Wall Street banks have already warned of lower trading revenue, but investors will watch for guidance from executives. Citigroup <C.N>, which reports later in the day, was down 0.59 percent.

* Bank of America <BAC.N> and Wells Fargo <WFC.N>, scheduled to report earnings on Friday, were also down.

* With the S&P 500 up 14 percent in 2017, investors are betting on strong earnings growth across the S&P 500.

* Also on tap is a report on producer prices for September, coming as Federal Reserve policymakers debate about stubbornly-low inflation as they decide on when to raise interest rates next.

* The Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT) is expected to show the producer price index rose 0.4 percent in September, after rising 0.2 percent in August.

* However, the more crucial reading of inflation will come from consumer price data on Friday. Many analysts have warned the data will be muddied by recent hurricanes.

* The economic data also comes as the hunt for Janet Yellen's successor to chair the Fed gathers steam.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

* Reports on Wednesday that Fed Governor Jerome Powell, seen as a safe pick for financial markets, was being pushed as a successor helped Wall Street close at fresh record highs.

* Powell and fellow governor, Lael Brainard, are scheduled to speak later in the day.

* Among stocks, AT&T fell more than 1 percent after the company said its third-quarter results took a hit from the string of hurricanes.

* J.Jill plunged 39 percent after the women's fashion retailer slashed its third-quarter forecast.

Futures snapshot at 7:04 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were down 19 points, or 0.08 percent, with 12,419 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 3.75 points, or 0.15 percent, with 75,087 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1 points, or 0.02 percent, on volume of 12,136 contracts.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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