Futures down on Middle East worries as earnings get into full swing

[October 18, 2023]  By Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) -Futures for Wall Street's main indexes dipped on Wednesday as growing tensions in the Middle East spurred demand for safe-haven assets, with investors also focused on earnings to gauge the impact of inflation and high interest rates on businesses.

A huge explosion at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians, wrecking a diplomatic mission by U.S. President Joe Biden, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday but was snubbed by Arab leaders who called off an emergency summit.

Oil prices surged nearly 3% on concerns about potential supply disruptions, steering an around 1% gain each in energy firms Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum in premarket trading.

A demand for safe-haven assets sent gold prices to near one-month highs, while the advance in U.S. Treasury yields stalled on Wednesday.

On the earnings front, consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble edged up 0.2% after its quarterly sales topped market expectations.

Investors would lookout for quarterly updates from U.S. bank Morgan Stanley, custodian bank State Street and medical device maker Abbott Laboratories before the opening bell.

EV maker Tesla and streaming services company Netflix are scheduled to report quarterly results after market close.

Data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in September. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow ended flat on the day.

Several Federal Reserve officials, including New York's John Williams and Board Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman will speak later in the day, ahead of Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Thursday.

"The debate whether higher rates are required appears to have been settled at least for the November meeting ... unless Powell springs a surprise tomorrow," Societe Generale strategists said in a note.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. central bank should extend its pause on interest-rate increases.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday it had taken much longer than expected for inflation to come down, and it was "still too high".

At 7:02 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 93 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 18.5 points, or 0.42%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 88.25 points, or 0.58%.

Nvidia fell 1.3% following Tuesday's 4.7% drop on lingering concerns over the Biden administration's plans to halt shipments of more advanced AI chips designed by the company and others to China.

United Airlines Holdings lost 5.3% after forecasting weaker fourth-quarter profit due to higher costs. Rivals American Airlines and Delta Air Lines also shed 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

Interactive Brokers Group fell 3.7% after reporting third-quarter results, with brokerages reducing their price targets on the online broker, citing the company's lowered account growth targets.

Travelers Companies reported a 14% fall in quarterly profit. Shares of the insurance company were up 0.6%.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Vinay Dwivedi)

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