Stock futures edge lower amid earnings, durable-goods data

U.S. stock futures inched lower early Tuesday, as slumping oil prices and weak economic data weighed on sentiment. Meanwhile investors showed caution amid a barrage of mixed earnings reports.

Durable-goods orders fell in September, marking second straight drop amid softness in manufacturing activity.

S&P 500 futures ESZ5, +0.05% dipped 4.8 points, or 0.2%, to 2,057, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMZ5, -0.28% edged down by 44 points, or 0.3%, to 17,487. Nasdaq 100 NQZ5, -0.10% futures lost 4 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,612.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.19% closed down 0.2%, trimming a small year-to-date rise that’s come after a four straight weeks of gains. The benchmark is up 0.6% in 2015 as of Monday’s close. Meanwhile, the Dow DJIA, -0.13% finished 0.1% lower on Monday, and the Nasdaq COMP, +0.06% edged up 0.1%.

Citi Private Bank’s Steven Wieting said his team views “the current financial market backdrop as one likely to produce decent near-term returns for risk assets.”

But they “continue to anticipate raising portfolio quality over time” given the “advanced state of the U.S. recovery, lasting commodity woes and the likelihood that global growth will remain merely moderate,” said Wieting, the bank’s global chief investment strategist, in a note late Monday. “Quality” generally refers to more conservative, less volatile investments.

Notable earnings: Shares in Pfizer Inc. PFE, +3.02% rose 2.6% premarket after the drug giant reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook, while Coach Inc. COH, +4.88% gained 3.7% after delivering stronger-than-anticipated quarterly profit.

Shares in DuPont DD, -1.44% gained 0.7% premarket after initially dropping. The chemical giant’s quarterly revenue missed forecasts, and a company official said he was “not pleased” with results.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA, +7.79% was another big advancer after its earnings report, jumping 8.3% as Yahoo Inc.—which owns part of Alibaba—rose premarket as well, climbing 5.9%.

Merck & Co. Inc. MRK, +2.44% was 1.4% higher after its results, but Comcast Corp. CMCSA, +0.35% lost 1.9% and Ford Motor Co. F, -4.15% fell 3.4%.

United Parcel Service Inc. UPS, -3.87% dropped 3% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the package delivery company beat third-quarter profit expectations but missed on sales.

After the market’s close, Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.23% Twitter Inc. TWTR, +0.84% and Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, +0.56% are among the companies slated to post their earnings.