JPMorgan helps Wall Street bounce after two-day slide

[October 12, 2018]   By Shreyashi Sanyal

(Reuters) - Wall Street was set to rebound on Friday after the U.S. stock market's worst two days of losses since February, helped by bumper results for the country's largest bank JPMorgan.

Index futures pointed to gains of 1 percent or more for the main indexes at opening, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average was still on course for a third consecutive week of losses after sinking more than 1300 points on Wednesday and Thursday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co rose 1.2 percent after reporting a nearly 25 percent rise in profit, driven by gains from rising interest rates and growth in loans which offset weakness in bond trading revenue.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo, which are set to report results later in the day, were up 1.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The bank results launch a quarterly reporting season that will give the clearest picture yet of the impact of President Trump's trade war with China on profits. The International Monetary Fund said recently that the U.S. economy would face the brunt of the impact of the dispute next year.

Earnings at S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 21.3 percent in the third quarter, according to I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv, a slowdown from the previous two quarters.

The earnings season comes with investors fretting over inflation pressures and fears of rising interest rates, while a surge in Treasury yields to over seven-year highs has made bonds more attractive.

Wall Street's two-day slide this week was its worst in eight months, pulling the three major indexes down a little over 5 percent each, with the Nasdaq narrowly avoiding moving into correction territory.

A trader pauses as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Such pullbacks, while short-lived have been more common in 2018 than a year ago, prompting more predictions of the end of a market rally that dates back to the 2008 financial crash.

At 7:11 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 230 points, or 0.91 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 27.5 points, or 1 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 110.25 points, or 1.57 percent.

The gainers include the high-growth FAANG group, which has led the three major U.S. indexes to record highs and also contributed heavily to rout in the past two sessions.

Shares of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet were higher between 1.31 percent and 3.78 percent.

Philip Morris dipped 1 percent and Altria was off 0.5 percent after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reasserted its previous focus on reducing nicotine in cigarettes.

In economic data, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index is expected to show a reading of 100.4 in October, compared to 100.1 in September. The report is due at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Shounak Dasgupta)

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