Stock futures flat after JPMorgan results; Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo eyed

[July 16, 2019]  By Medha Singh

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures were trading flat on Tuesday as investors parsed through the earnings report from JPMorgan Chase and awaited results from Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

The largest U.S. bank by assets slipped 1.2% premarket reversing an initial gain of about 1% after it reported quarterly results.

Shares of Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Wells Fargo <WFC.N>, were trading flat to marginally higher.

Citigroup Inc <C.N> kicked off the earnings season on Monday, with a mixed quarterly report. It posted a better-than-expected profit but a decline in its net interest margin raised concerns that it could signal lower profits across the industry as interest rates have dropped.

The S&P 500 bank index <.SPXBK> ended the day 1% lower.

Trade war remains a key focus for investors this earnings season as well as they look to determine how deeply it would hurt the profits and forecasts of companies.

Profit at S&P 500 companies is likely to dip 0.3%, which would be the first quarterly drop in three years, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Markets have scaled fresh record highs this month on increasing hopes that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rate at its policy meeting, which is two weeks away, to cushion the economy from any slowdown due to trade war.
 

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., July 12, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Dow Industrials member <.DJI> Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> rose 0.5% after reporting a 41.8% rise in second-quarter profit, helped by its pharmaceuticals business.

At 7:02 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were down 8 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 0.25 points, or 0.01% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 3.75 points, or 0.05%.

Also on tap is the Commerce Department's retail sales data, which is expected to rise 0.1% rise in June after 0.5% decline a month earlier. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Additionally, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to report that industrial production likely edged 0.1% higher in June, compared to May's 0.4% rise.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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