Market Update
Stock index futures in the United States were trading slightly lower Friday, with shares of Google falling in pre-market trading following disappointing earnings last evening, even as markets brace for Bank of America to declare results before the bell today, apart from a slew of economic reports.
At the time of writing, S&P 500 futures lost 1.6 points to 1308 while Nasdsaq futures were off 2.5 points to 2298.
Equities traded somewhat pressured globally, with Asian markets falling on high Chinese growth and inflation data that led to expectations of further monetary policy tightening. European stocks started with a positive bias, however, but gains were capped after Moody's downgraded Ireland's debt rating by two notches.
Key indexes in the U.S. closed flat Thursday amid higher than expected jobless claims and new inflation data.
But in earnings, Google (G) declared numbers after the market close that were short of street expectations with profitability taking a hit.
On tap today would be earnings from Bank of America (BAC) with Wall Street analysts expecting the firm to clock earnings per share of $0.27.
On the economic calendar, a clutch of reports are due, including CPI, Empire Manufacturing Index, Net Long-Term TIC Flows, industrial production, and the Mich Sentiment Index.
U.S.-listed shares of Indian software maker Infosys (INFY) may be active in early trade today after the company declared results in Mumbai that missed street estimates and as the company posted weak guidance. Infosys dropped 9.6% on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
In commodities, gold hit a fresh high while crude-oil prices came off.