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* Futures: Dow and Nasdaq flat, S&P 500 up 0.06%
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little
changed on Friday, as better-than-expected earnings reports were
overshadowed by fresh jitters about the global economy after
economic data from China revealed growth slowed to its weakest
pace in almost 30 years.
The data showed growth in the world's second-largest economy
marked a further loss of momentum in the third quarter, casting
gloom over global equities.
Helping to prop up markets was a 1.6% premarket rise in
shares of Coca-Cola Co KO.N after the company beat analysts'
expectations for quarterly sales. Oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV SLB.N also
gained 1.8% following a quarterly profit beat.
The reporting season kicked off on a strong note this week,
with solid results from major banks, healthcare giants and
streaming pioneer Netflix Inc NFLX.O . The S&P 500 .SPX and
Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes were on pace to cap their
second week in gains.
But the gains could be short-lived as analysts see
third-quarter S&P 500 earnings falling by 2.9%, according to
Refinitiv data, marking the first contraction since mid-2016.
Wall Street investors took comfort in the string of
corporate earnings beats and encouraging geopolitical
developments on Thursday, which soothed some concerns about a
downturn in the U.S. economy.
A 15-month long trade war between Washington and Beijing and
slowing domestic manufacturing growth have also weighed on
buyers' sentiment.
At 7:15 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 5 points, or
0.02%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 rose 1.75 points, or 0.06% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 1.75 points, or 0.02%.
Among other stocks, shares of online broker E*Trade
Financial Corp ETFC.O rose 3% after it posted better than
expected quarterly profit and revenue.
Caterpillar Inc CAT.N dropped 1% after Morgan Stanley
downgraded the industrial giant's shares to "equal-weight"
citing growing risks from weakening demand heading into 2020.