Upbeat earnings news may have helped lift Wall Street during the early part of yesterday’s session but profit taking started before the close and has continued overnight, judging by the state of index futures. They are tracking losses we’ve seen building in Asia through the session and the Dow is now forecast to open lower than it started on Wednesday morning too.
Earnings season continues with Morgan Stanley(NYSE:MS) (NYSE:MS) before the bell and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) being the first of the fintech giants to report after the close. The latter will be worth watching after news earlier in the week of a hike to subscription charges. This was well received by investors, but the close on 20% uplift in fees for users in the US could prove a risky gambit if uptake fails to be strong.
High profile economic data is thin on the ground today, although it’s the bigger macroeconomic risks that stand to dominate in the near term. The March 1st deadline for a trade deal with China moves ever closer, whilst the ongoing shut down of the government will take an increasingly significant bite out of the economy as this drags on, too.
Ahead of the open we’re calling the Dow 122 points lower at 24085 and the S&P 500 14 points lower at 2602.