Stock futures are slightly higher as earnings season continues

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on August 3, 2022.

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

US stock futures were little changed on Wednesday as the corporate earnings season continued.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2%.

United Airlines shares are up more than 2% in premarket trading after the company beat Wall Street estimates last quarter on the back of strong travel demand.

Meanwhile, shares of Moderna rose more than 5% after the pharmaceutical company said its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine can prevent the disease in older adults.

The Dow was down about 391 points, or 1.14%, on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs shares plummeted – dragging the 30-stock index lower – after the bank posted a profit loss. The S&P 500 fell 0.20%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the only one among the major averages to buck the trend, rising 0.14%.

These moves follow earnings results from major banks, which suggested different paths forward even for names within the same sector. Goldman Sachs shares fell more than 6% after investment banking and wealth management revenues fell. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley rose 5.9%, boosted by better-than-expected wealth management earnings.

“This is a really pivotal earnings season to see if companies can weather the storm and how long they can weather it,” SoFi’s Liz Young said Tuesday on CNBC’s Closing Bell: Overtime.

“I still think we’re in an area where the market tends to rally on bad news. And this is expected to mean the Fed slows down, the Fed pauses, the Fed turns around, the Fed stops sooner than they say they will. And I think we’re too tied to the Fed at this point. It’s not just about the Fed anymore,” Young added.

Traders are awaiting a slew of economic reports on Wednesday, including the latest data for PPI and retail sales.

Economists polled by the Dow Jones expect the producer price index to fall 0.1% in December, compared with a 0.3% rise in the previous month.

Meanwhile, retail sales are expected to fall 1% in December, according to consensus estimates. The previous reading showed a decline of 0.6%.

The corporate earnings season continues with earnings from JB Hunt Transport Services, Charles Schwab, PNC Financial Services Group and Discover on Wednesday.