By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were little changed in early APAC deals on Thursday, with major benchmark indices closing slightly higher during the regular session as companies kicked off the quarterly earnings season while investors monitored key inflation data and FOMC meeting minutes.
During Wednesday’s regular session, the Dow closed flat at 34,377.81, the S&P 500 gained 13.15 points or 0.3% to 4363.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 105.71 points or 0.73% to 14571.64.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 46 points, or 0.13%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 0.18% and 0.24%, respectively.
Among stocks, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) closed 2.64% lower despite posting earnings results that exceeded expectations, while Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) lost 0.92% and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) fell 0.54%. Tech names generally gained as long term bond yields eased slightly, with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) adding 0.24%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) adding 1.17% and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) lifting 1.14%.
In policy news, minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s September meeting showed that the central bank could begin the tapering process in mid-November or mid-December.
Among earnings, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) are all scheduled to report earnings before the bell Thursday, while UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and Domino’s Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ) are also set to report.
Among data, the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index released earlier on Wednesday, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2% month over month in September and 4% over the last 12 months, compared to estimates of 0.3% and 4%, respectively. Ahead in the session, investors will be monitoring producer price index data and weekly jobless claims.