U.S. index futures slipped amid disappointing earnings, while investors awaited clues on the path of interest-rate increases before a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday.
HP Inc. sank 6.3 percent in early New York trading after forecasting earnings that may miss analyst projections. Signet Jewelers Ltd. tanked 13 percent as its profit fell short of estimates, while retailer Dollar General Corp. lost 7.4 percent after reporting comparable sales that trailed forecasts. Mylan NV rebounded 3.3 percent as it said it would cut the cost of its EpiPen emergency allergy shot after pressure from politicians including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sent the stock down by the most in two months on Wednesday.
S&P 500 Index contracts expiring in September fell 0.2 percent to 2,170.5 at 7:33 a.m. in New York, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 37 points to 18,435. That came after U.S. equities dropped on Wednesday, halting a five-day streak of moves of 0.2 percent or less.
"You know that Janet Yellen is going to come out and say something, and you have no idea what that's going to be," said Ben Kumar, an investment manager at Seven Investment Management LLP in London. His firm manages 10 billion pounds ($ 13 billion). "Your sensible move would be to be a bit nervous. So there seems to be some sensible profit taking, or moving to cash, or just sitting on the sidelines."
The rally that drove the S&P 500 to a fresh record has lost momentum amid hawkish remarks from Fed officials and mixed economic data, while the earnings season is almost over. On Wednesday, pharmaceutical companies led declines after comments by Clinton renewed concern about potential changes in drug pricing. The S&P 500 fell the most in a week, trimming its monthly advance to less than 0.1 percent. That's after the gauge rallied as much as 9.5 percent after the selloff that followed the U.K. vote to quit the European Union.
Investors are keeping an eye on economic figures before Yellen's speech. Data on Thursday are forecast to show a rebound in durable-goods orders and improvement in the services industry. Traders have pushed forward their expectations for a rate increase, pricing in a 28 percent probability of a move next month. They're betting there's a 54 percent chance the Fed will act by December, up from 36 percent at the end of July.
Among other stocks moving in early trading, Express Inc. lost 1.3 percent after cutting its annual profit estimate. Tiffany & Co. rose 4.5 percent after posting earnings that topped projections. Cloud-based software maker Workday Inc. jumped 10 percent as its revenue beat predictions.
Almost 80 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far have beaten profit estimates, while 56 percent have topped sales expectations. Analysts, who see second-quarter earnings down 2.3 percent for the gauge's members, expect a 0.9 percent decline in the current period.
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