U.S. stock index futures little changed, FedEx shares fall on gains miss

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday after Wall Street notched its fifth straight gain as investors digested weak earnings from shipping giant FedEx.

At around 6:50 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded just 12 points higher, indicating a gain of 14 points at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were both slightly higher.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 posted its longest winning streak since November and had a record closing high along with the Dow and Nasdaq.

However, Wall Street headed for a slow start to the session after FedEx shares dropped more than 7% on disappointing quarterly numbers. The company’s earnings and revenue missed analyst expectations. FedEx also cut its guidance for the rest of its fiscal year.

“We anticipate some of the aforementioned headwinds to abate and F2H20 to be a period of moderate improvement,” said Oppenheimer analyst Scott Schneeberger in a note. However, with Express/Ground margins well below historical trend, we anticipate FedEx to be a show me” story for multiple quarters.”

Stocks broke out to new records last week after President Donald Trump and Chinese officials announced that the world’s two largest economies had agreed on a so-called phase one deal.

It is understood that Beijing agreed to billions of dollars in agricultural purchases from the U.S., while Trump said he would not move ahead with a new round of planned tariffs, among other items.

The deal, which is not yet signed, is set to be confirmed in the first week of January, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Source: CNBC