US pre-open: Futures mixed, Boeing earnings better than feared

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were pointing to a mixed open ahead of the bell on Wednesday as market participants braced for another busy day in terms of corporate earnings. As of 1240 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.05%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.11% and 0.54% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 263.71 points higher on Tuesday, building on solid gains recorded in the previous session.

Earnings were again the main topic of conversation early on Wednesday after electric carmaker Tesla missed both top and bottom lines expectations last quarter but said it would now begin to focus more on "more affordable" vehicles, while Visa traded higher thanks to some stronger-than-expected quarterly figures, and toymaker Hasbro posted a smaller-than-expected drop in Q1 sales and easily beat profit estimates on the back of leaner inventories and steady digital gaming revenues.

Embattled aircraft manufacturer Boeing, in its first full accounting update since the midair loss of a door plug from one of its 737 Max 9 planes back in January, reported a better-than-expected quarterly performance, with revenues dropping from $425.0m to $355.0m and revenues contracting 8% to $16.57bn.

Still to come, Meta Platforms, Ford, Chipotle and IBM will all report after the market closes.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "Tesla post earnings bounce served to highlight the curious situation facing investors and traders, with the recent weakness seen in equity markets serving to provide a more forgiving environment for businesses compared with previous quarters. With Tesla having missed on both the top and bottom line, we instead saw markets focus on their company's plans to fast track a budget friendly model that could help them compete with the relentless price competition in China. Looking ahead, Meta continues the big tech theme, with markets hopeful that the resurgence seen in advertising demand can help drive yet another surge in revenues."

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell by 2.7% week-on-week in the seven days ended 19 April, trimming the 3.3% increase from halfway through the month to mark the sharpest weekly decline since early February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Last week's decline in mortgage applications came as mortgage rates jumped 11 basis points to 7.24% amid hotter-than-expected economic data and stubborn inflation led to sharp selling pressure for US Treasuries.

Still to come, March's durable goods orders report will be published at 1330 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com