U.S. stock futures little changed Thursday after erasing earlier gains following disappointing earnings reports from heavyweights Ford and ConocoPhillips.
After trading with a gain of 64 points earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were steady at 18,387, while S&P 500 futures inched down less than a point to 2,160.75. Nasdaq-100 futures were mostly unchanged at 4,707.50.
Stocks closed lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hinted at a September rate increase in its policy statement , saying near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished. The S&P 500 index pulled back 2.6 points to 2,166.58, as losses for consumer staple such as Coca-Cola (KO) utilities weighed on the index.
But on Thursday, market observers were rethinking the Fed language from that meeting.
"The FOMC minutes do appear to have struck a dovish tone with investors despite offering a more upbeat assessment of the economy and highlighting the diminishing near-term risks. This could be helping to lift sentiment ahead of the open today," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst with Oanda, in emailed comments.
Economic data on the calendar includes weekly jobless claims and June advance trade in goods at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, plus rental vacancy rates for the second quarter at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Shares of ConocoPhilips (COP) dropped 2.7% premarket after the oil company reported a bigger loss than expected.
Ford Motor Co.(F) slumped 7.4% following an earnings miss , while Dow Chemicals Co.(DOW) inched up 0.1% after earnings and revenue came in better than forecast by Wall Street.
Colgate-Palmolive Co.(CL) rose 0.9% after the consumer products firm said profit rose in the second quarter.
Harley-Davidson Inc.(HOG) also beat on both profit and revenue, but shares didn't move premarket.
Hershey(HSY) swung to a profit in the second quarter.
MasterCard Inc.(MA) and HCA Holdings Inc.(HCA) are also on tap.
FANG stocks continue to impress. Facebook rose 5.5% ahead of the bell, adding to Wednesday's late-session gains after soundly beating on earnings and revenue. But the social-media network's Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said the company expects lower ad revenue growth in the next two quarters and just modest growth in its ad load.