(Bloomberg) -- US stock index futures wavered as disappointing earnings from heavyweights including Ford Motor Co. and Qualcomm Inc. renewed investor concerns about the valuations of US stocks.
S&P 500 futures were little changed, erasing an early gain fueled by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comment that the Trump administration is focusing on bringing down the Treasury 10-year yield. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.2%.
Qualcomm, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, fell more than 5% in premarket trading. Ford dropped 6% after warning that profit may fall, while Skyworks Solutions Inc. plunged more than 20% after the semiconductor company said competition in the industry is intensifying.
Meanwhile, Honeywell International Inc. slid more than 5% after saying it will split into separate publicly traded companies following pressure from an activist investor.
Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday that when it comes to the Federal Reserve, “I will only talk about what they’ve done, not what I think they should do from now on.” He repeated his view that expanding energy supply will help lower inflation. But some investors said 10-year yields are unlikely to go much lower while sticky prices and a resilient economy damp expectations of further Fed policy easing.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked about two basis points higher on Thursday, though it’s still close to a one-month low.
“It is difficult to see the 10-year yield come down a lot unless the economy slows significantly,“ said David Zahn, a senior vice president at Franklin Templeton Investment Management. “If that happens, which isn’t what they want, then I can see 10-year yields going lower.”
More earnings are expected today, with Amazon.com Inc. due to release results after the close.
In Europe, Societe Generale SA and AstraZeneca Plc rallied on the back of better-than-exected results. A. P. Moller-Maersk A/S surged almost 9% after announcing a $2 billion buyback.
UK stocks outperformed and the pound fell after the Bank of England cut interest rates, as expected.
In economic news, German factory orders surged in December, adding to evidence that the outlook for the beleaguered sector may be improving. US data on jobless claims will also on traders’ radar today, with the payrolls report due tomorrow.
Key events this week:
- UK rate decision, Thursday
- US initial jobless claims, Thursday
- Fed’s Christopher Waller, Lorie Logan speak, Thursday
- Amazon earnings, Thursday
- US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
- Fed’s Michelle Bowman, Adriana Kugler speak, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 6:58 a.m. New York time
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%
- The MSCI World Index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
- The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0364
- The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.2425
- The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 152.44 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 2.1% to $98,944.86
- Ether rose 0.7% to $2,807.61
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.43%
- Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.36%
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.42%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $71.44 a barrel
- Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
--With assistance from Richard Henderson, Winnie Hsu and Chiranjivi Chakraborty.
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