By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Netflix rallies premarket after earnings report
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures hugged the flatline
on Thursday, with investors wary of dipping their toes into the
stock market ahead of key Federal Reserve speakers, manufacturing
data and more prominent earnings, including Citigroup and Goldman
Sachs.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) slipped 7
points to 18,015, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5) lost
1.05 points to 2,098.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NQM5)
fell 1 point to 4,420.75.
The small losses marked a slight pullback from Wednesday's
advances (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), when
better-than-expected earnings and a jump in oil prices sent the
benchmarks close to record closing levels. The S&P 500 ended
just 0.5% shy of its all-time close of 2117.39 hit Monday, March 2,
while the Dow average (DJI) missed its record by 1%.
Earnings: Another raft of corporate results could push the main
U.S. indexes back into record territory on Thursday. The financial
sector stayed in the spotlight, with first-quarter results from
Citigroup Inc.(C) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) expected ahead
of the bell.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Citi to report earnings of
$1.39 a share, while Goldman is forecast to post earnings of $4.26
a share. On Wednesday, Goldman shares closed above $200 for the
first time since 2008, just before the Bear Stearns collapse.
Also reporting ahead of the bell, UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH)
is forecast to report earnings of $1.35 a share in the first
quarter. Cigarette company Philip Morris International Inc.(PM) is
projected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.02 a share.
And after the market closes, American Express Co.(AXP) is
expected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.36 a share, while
Barbie-maker Mattel Inc.(MAT) is expected to post a loss of 9 cents
a share in the first quarter.
Stocks to watch: Netflix Inc. shares(NFLX) jumped 12% ahead of
the open after the online streaming company late Wednesday said it
added 4.88 million subscribers in the first quarter
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-adds-more-users-than-expected-shares-leap-2015-04-15),
better than the 4.05 million additions it had forecast.
SanDisk Corp.(SNDK) dropped 7.3% premarket after the memory-chip
maker late Wednesday reported a drop in profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sandisk-shares-down-after-eps-miss-2015-04-15).
McDonald's Corp.(MCD) was also in the spotlight. The operator of
its chain in Japan said it expects to post deep losses
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-japan-expects-deep-losses-amid-food-scandals-2015-04-16)in
the current fiscal year and that it would be closing 131 of its
stores.
Fed speakers: Four Federal Reserve speakers are on tap within a
two-hour time frame on Thursday.
First up, is Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart' speech to
business leaders in Palm Beach, Florida, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Lockhart is a voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open
Market Committee this year.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, who is not a voter,
gives a speech on the economic outlook in New York at 1:10 p.m.
Eastern.
At 1:30 p.m. Eastern, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, also
a non-voter, will speak in London.
And finally, Stanley Fischer, the Fed Vice Chairman, is slated
to talk about inflation at the International Monetary Fund at 3
p.m. Eastern.
The hefty Fed lineup comes after several speeches on Wednesday,
when St. Louis Fed President James Bullard
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-bullard-says-rate-hikes-are-needed-for-coming-boom-2015-04-15)
and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-lacker-strong-case-can-be-made-for-higher-rates-2015-04-15)
each made a case for raising interest rates soon.
Economic data: Weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern, expected to show 281,000 Americans filed for jobless
claims last week. That would be unchanged from the week before.
At the same time, housing starts for March are due, followed by
the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index at 10 a.m. Economists
polled by MarketWatch expect the manufacturing index to rise to 6
in April from 5 in March.
Other markets: Asian bourses closed mostly higher, while the
major European indexes were mired in the red.
Crude oil (CLK5) pulled back some
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)after Wednesday's
6% rally. Metals and the dollar
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) were on the
rise.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires