Stocks May Open Lower On Disappointing Earnings News - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction throughout much of the previous session, stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 23 points.

A negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news is likely to weigh on the markets, with shares of Amazon (AMZN) falling sharply in pre-market trading.

The downward momentum for Amazon comes after the online retailer reported a wider than expected second quarter loss after the close of trading on Thursday.

Credit card giant Visa (V) may also come under pressure in early trading after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings but lowering its full-year revenue guidance.

Pandora (P) and Starbucks (SBUX) are also moving notably lower in pre-market trading after reporting their quarterly results, while share of Baidu (BIDU) are showing a strong move to the upside.

Geopolitical concerns may also contribute to early weakness on Wall Street, as traders keep a close eye on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

Meanwhile, the futures did not show much reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing a bigger than expected rebound in durable goods orders in the month of June.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders increased by 0.7 percent in June following a 1.0 percent decrease in May. Economists had been expecting orders to climb by about 0.5 percent.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by a slightly stronger 0.8 percent in June compared to a 0.1 percent drop in the previous month.

Nonetheless, trading activity on the day may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to potentially market moving events next week.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce it latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, while the Labor Department is due to release its closely watched monthly jobs report next Friday.

After failing to sustain an initial upward move, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages eventually closed nearly unchanged, turning in a mixed performance for the second straight day.

Despite the lackluster performance, the S&P 500 still inched up 0.97 points or 0.1 percent to a new record closing high of 1,987.98. On the other hand, the Dow edge down 2.83 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 17,083.80 and the Nasdaq slipped 1.59 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,472.11.