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Stock index futures were lower on Thursday, as a disappointing first-quarter earnings report from Salesforce (CRM) weighed on the market and while investors await for more economic data.
S&P 500 futures (SPX) -0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) -0.4% and Dow futures (INDU) -0.8%.
The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) was down 1 basis point to 4.60%. The 2-year yield (US2Y) was unchanged at 4.98%. See how Treasury yields have done across the curve at the Seeking Alpha bond page.
Salesforce (CRM) shares tumbled 16% in premarket trade, a day after the enterprise software giant reported fiscal first-quarter results and guidance that missed estimates.
Wall Street ended in the red on Wednesday, as equities came under pressure amid a bond sell-off that extended from the previous session. Losses in airline stocks and managed care players also weighed on markets.
“The latest selloff has been driven by a range of factors, but bonds took a particular hit after a weak US Treasury auction yesterday, along with mounting concern about inflationary pressures, which sent European yields up to their highest levels in months,” Deutsche Bank’s Henry Allen said.
So it was a tough backdrop for markets across several asset classes, and there had already been a relentless run of gains in recent weeks that was always going to be tough to maintain, Allen added.
Investors will keep their eyes on the revision of the Q1 GDP report, which is slated to come before the bell. Economists expect the annual rate to stay at 1.6%.
“An accurate picture of 1Q24 U.S. growth should emerge sometime around 2029 or 2030,” UBS’ Paul Donovan quipped.
“Q1 GDP growth will be revised down sharply today, thanks mostly to weaker consumption,” Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
The Initial Jobless Claims report is also expected at the same time, and is forecasted to rise to 218K.
“The weekly jobless claims numbers are so noisy that they are effectively meaningless, but the trend matters, and the four-week moving average now stands at its highest level since last September,” Pantheon Macro added.
Other economic data scheduled for today before the market opens, include Q1 Corporate Profits, which is expected to rise to 3.9% as compared to the last quarter, April Retail Inventories Excluding Auto and Wholesale Inventories, which is forecasted to show flat sequential growth.
