Microvast Holdings announces departure of chief financial officer
(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Amazon soars after reporting jump in holiday sales
* Risk aversion rises as coronavirus spreads globally
* Caterpillar falls after downbeat 2020 profit forecast
* Futures down: Dow 0.51%, S&P 0.46%, Nasdaq 0.33%
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Sruthi Shankar
Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were on course to open
lower on Friday, as worries over the impact of the coronavirus
epidemic on global growth overshadowed the latest batch of
upbeat quarterly earnings reports.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O surged 11.5% in premarket trading
after it trumped Wall Street estimates for holiday-quarter
results, putting the online retailer back in the $1 trillion
market capitalization club. Although corporate earnings have been largely positive so
far, Wall Street indexes are on course to end the week on a poor
note as virus fears continue to grip financial markets.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic a
global emergency on Thursday after the fast-spreading virus
killed more than 200 people in China and infected thousands
globally. Disruptions in supply chains and travel curbs are expected
to weigh on China's economy, prompting economists to temper
their growth expectations for the world's second-largest
economy.
Fitch Solutions said it maintained its real GDP growth
forecast for China at 5.9% for 2020, but said it could drop to
5.4% because of the virus.
"SARS experience suggests equities, especially in Asia, will
keep falling until coronavirus infections stabilize and
cyclical sectors are most vulnerable," Citi's global equity
strategist Robert Buckland wrote in a note.
Citi, however, asked investors to "buy the dip". "Any
further drop in global equities would make forecast returns more
attractive," Buckland wrote.
Refinitiv data showed fourth-quarter earnings of 193
companies on the S&P 500 index that have reported results
through Thursday rose 0.7%, compared with a 0.6% decline
estimated at the start of the season.
At 8:47 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 148 points,
or 0.51%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 15 points, or 0.46%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 30.5 points, or 0.33%.
Among other stocks, Western Digital Corp WDC.O jumped 5.1%
after forecasting third-quarter earnings above Wall Street
expectations, while International Business Machines Corp IBM.N
gained 4% after naming a new chief executive officer.
Caterpillar Inc CAT.N , a bellwether for global economic
activity, slipped 1% after it forecast full-year earnings below
analysts' expectations. Visa Inc V.N fell 2.6% as it fell short of analysts'
estimate for first-quarter revenue and warned revenue would be
crimped by incentives it provide to banking clients in 2020.