US STOCKS-Futures muted ahead of big bank earnings

Frankfurt (April 15)  JPMorgan Chase's results on Friday eased fears that the first-quarter earnings season would slam the brakes on Wall Street's big rally back from last year's slump, and helped put the benchmark S&P 500 within a percent of its September record closing high. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc were both up 0.68% in premarket trading, ahead of their results later in the day. Bank of America Corp , which reports on Tuesday, inched up 0.10%.

U.S. negotiators have tempered demands that China curb industrial subsidies as a condition for a trade deal, sources told Reuters, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he hoped the trade talks were approaching a final lap. Boeing Co , the single largest U.S. exporter to China, rose 0.3%.

At 6:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 41 points, or 0.16%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 1 points, or 0.03%, while Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1.25 points, or 0.02%.

Of the 29 S&P 500 companies reporting results so far, 79.3% have surpassed first-quarter earnings estimate, above the average of past four quarters, according to Refinitiv data.
Analysts now expect S&P 500 companies to show a 2.3% year-on-year decline in earnings, the first annual contraction since 2016.

However, financials are forecast to post earnings growth of 3%, among the few sectors estimated to log positive earnings growth.

Among other stocks moving premarket, Waste Management Inc rose 2.2% in light volumes, after the company said it would buy smaller rival Advanced Disposal Services Inc in a deal valued at $4.9 billion.

Wells Fargo & Co declined 1.6% following multiple price target cuts after the bank gave a tepid outlook on Friday.

TheStreet