US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Earnings

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings reports. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 42 points to 12,595.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 5.50 points to 1,329.40. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 10.50 points to 2,533.00.

US stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.47% to 12,676.05, the S&P 500 index falling 0.03% to 1,337.89 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 0.31% to 2,854.24.

Data on weekly jobless claims and June durable-goods orders will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, June pending home sales data will be released at 10 a.m. ET.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.82 per share on revenue of $1.63 billion. Colgate-Palmolive Co (NYSE: CL) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.33 per share on revenue of $4.25 billion. The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $15.70 billion.

3M Co (NYSE: MMM) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.65 per share on revenue of $7.79 billion. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $1.95 on revenue of $115.08 billion. The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.76 on revenue of $1.59 billion.

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.13 on revenue of $510.94 million. United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $1.70 on revenue of $10.03 billion. United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $1.41 on revenue of $14.44 billion.

Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) reported downbeat second-quarter earnings and lowered its profit forecast.

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) reported a 32% rise in its FQ3 profit and lifted its full year forecast.

Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) reported upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.04%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.26%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.27% and German DAX 30 index dipped 0.94%.

Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.92%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.47% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.54%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.08% and India's Sensex fell 1.12%.

Nymex crude-oil futures dropped $0.83 to trade at $88.14 a barrel in electronic trade, while gold futures declined $6.10 to $1,602 an ounce.

The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.2% to 83.694. The euro dropped 0.1% versus the dollar to trade at $1.2129.

The US dollar fell 0.04% versus the Japanese yen to trade at ¥78.12.

BY Monica Gerson