As the trading day begins, benchmark US stock indices are largely trending upward in anticipation of incoming corporate earnings reports. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has seen a marginal increase of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite reflects a slightly stronger rise of 0.4% in premarket trading. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a slight decline of 0.2%.
In the Asian markets, shares displayed mixed results, with various exchanges noticing lower numbers, while European markets have shown a predominantly positive performance. Among the noteworthy movements today, the shares of United Airlines ($UAL) and Alaska Air ($ALK) have dropped by 0.2% and 0.5% respectively as these airlines reported their second-quarter earnings late on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Domino's Pizza ($DPZ) suffered a significant 11% decline in share prices after the company reported same-store sales that fell short of analysts' expectations. Other companies set to announce their financial outcomes before the market opens include Novartis ($NOVN), Abbott Laboratories ($ABT), Marsh & McLennan ($MMC), Blackstone ($BX), Cintas ($CTAS), D.R.
Horton ($DHI), M&T Bank ($MTB), and Snap-On ($SNA). Investors are also keenly awaiting results from high-profile firms such as Netflix ($NFLX), Intuitive Surgical ($ISRG), and PPG Industries ($PPG), which are scheduled to release their earnings after the market closes. Economic indicators are also set to influence market sentiments today, with the weekly jobless claims report and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing index for July expected at 8:30 AM ET.
This will be followed by the leading indicators index for last month, to be released at 10 AM. Additionally, the weekly domestic natural gas supplies report from the EIA has a 10:30 AM release scheduled, which could further impact market conditions. In terms of key speeches, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan is slated to address the public at 1:45 PM, with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly scheduled for a speech at 6:05 PM.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman is expected to speak at 7:30 PM, which may provide further insights into monetary policy directions. In other market activity, Bitcoin has seen a slight dip of 0.1% to $64,615, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil has similarly edged down by 0.1%, settling at $82.77 per barrel.
On the bond market side, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries has risen by 3.9 basis points, reaching 4.18%. Meanwhile, gold has climbed 0.3% to trade at $2,467 per ounce, reflecting ongoing investor interest in precious metals as a hedge against economic uncertainty. Investors will be carefully assessing these movements and economic indicators as they make decisions for today's trading activities, keeping an eye on the upcoming corporate earnings reports which could influence market directions..