US pre-open: Stocks set for slightly higher start
Apple Inc.
$165.00
13:04 19/04/24
Wall Street is set for a slightly higher start following the release of a weaker-than-expected reading on a key gauge of inflation pressures and ahead of the latest quarterly results from US tech giant Apple which were set for release after the market close.
Dow Jones I.A.
37,986.40
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,037.65
12:15 19/04/24
As of 1334 BST, futures on the S&P 500 were pointing to an opening gain of 7.0 points to 2,810.25, alongside a rise of 24.0 points for the Nasdaq-100 to 7,225 and an advance of 24.0 points for the Dow Jones Industrials to 25,304.0.
Significantly, 10-year US Treasury yields were two basis points lower at 2.96%, having early hit an intra-session low of 2.93%, after the Bank of Japan told markets it intended to maintain then current short and long-term interest rates at their extremely low levels for an "extended period of time".
Lifting sentiment as well, the Commerce Department reported that the 'core' price deflator for US personal consumption expenditures, the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, was steady in June at up by 1.9% year-on-year (consensus: 2.0%).
It was also revealed that government statisticians had marked down their preliminary readings on headline and core PCE for May by a tenth of a percentage point, each.
Scheduled for release later in the day was the ISM Chicago business barometre for July at 1445 BST, followed by the Conference Board's consumer confidence index at 1500 BST.
Against that backdrop, all eyes on the last trading of the month was on Apple, with its shares trading 0.37% higher ahead of its second quarter results, which were due out after the closing bell.
Consensus expectations were for the company to post quarterly sales and earnings per share of $52.3bn and $2.16, respectively, on the back of iPhone unit sales of 42m at an average selling price of $701.
Shares of chip designer Qualcomm were also on the front foot after the company announced the start of a modified Dutch tender to buyback as much as $10bn-worth of its own stock.
Shares of fashion retailer Ralph Lauren were also wanted after it reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $1.54 and sales of $1.39bn in comparison to analysts' forecasts for earnings of $1.36.
In notable broker action, analysts at Jefferies marked-up their target price for Chipotle from $400 per share to $550.