Stocks set to open slightly lower
U.S. stock index futures traded slightly lower on Thursday, after South Korean and Japanese health authorities reported a surge in new coronavirus cases.
In South Korea, health officials reported the first death and 53 new cases of the COVID-19. Japan also reported the first two deaths from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had a total of 621 confirmed cases of the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, the total number of people who have died from the virus in mainland China is now 2,118 after the country reported 114 new deaths in the 24 hours. China’s National Health Commission recorded 394 new cases, bringing confirmed cases in the country to 74,576.
At around 4:30 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures declined 45.5 points, or 0.16% to 29,291.5. The S&P 500 futures were down 4.37 points, or 0.13% to 3,382.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 14.75 points, or 0.15% to 9,718.75.
Fed minutes reveal interest rates likely to remain on hold
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday released minutes of its January 28-29 FOMC meeting at which it left interest rates unchanged.
According to the minutes, most committee members were cautiously optimistic on the American economy and their ability to hold interest rates steady this year, despite new risks like the coronavirus breakout. Minutes show that policy makers called the outbreak “a new risk to the global growth outlook.”
“Some trade uncertainties had diminished recently, and there were some signs of stabilization in global growth. Nonetheless, uncertainties about the outlook remained, including those posed by the outbreak of the coronavirus,” the minutes stated.
Dropbox, Domino’s Pizza report earnings today
Analysts expect Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) to report fourth-quarter earnings of $2.98 per share on revenue of $1.12 billion before the market open.
Other key earnings to watch before the opening bell include, Southern (NYSE: SO), Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL), ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH).
Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) is expected to post Q4 earnings of $0.14 per share on revenue of $443.35 million after the closing bell. Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) and Fastly (NYSE: FSLY) will also publish their reports after the market close.
