U.S. stock futures steady before next batch of data
BNN Bloomberg
Wall Street equity futures were little changed as traders awaited the another set of data readings on the strength of the economy and looked for clues on the outlook for rate hikes. The tone was less upbeat than in Europe, where positive earnings news buoyed stocks.
Contracts for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were less than 0.1 per cent lower, after the two benchmarks advanced on Wednesday. Shopify Inc. dropped as much as 9.7 per cent in premarket trading after the cloud-based commerce platform’s first-quarter revenue forecast was weaker than expected. Cisco Systems Inc. gained after the communications equipment company raised its full-year outlook.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index hit the highest level in a year. Standard Chartered Plc rose as the emerging-markets focused lender announced a buyback and forecast higher returns. British Gas owner Centrica Plc rallied after its record profit.
The greenback fell against all G10 currencies while the yen strengthened. Treasuries rose, with the benchmark 10-year yield slipping after increasing by six basis points on Wednesday.
