Futures flat on mixed earnings, Fed policy uncertainty

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings reports, while awaiting more data for clues on the outlook for interest rates and the economy.

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday after disappointing quarterly reports from Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc and AT&T Inc (NYSE:) worsened an already downbeat mood in markets following weak economic data that fueled concerns of a U.S. recession.

Investors will focus on S&P Global (NYSE:)’s flash purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) at 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GMT). The survey is expected to show the momentum in U.S. business activity cooled further in April.

U.S. stocks indexes have been rangebound this week as investors sought clues on how far the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates, while earnings signaled resilience in big banks but most regional lenders reported deposit outflows in the wake of a banking crisis last month.

Consumer company Procter & Gamble (NYSE:) Co, miner Freeport-McMoran and hospital operator HCA Healthcare (NYSE:) Inc are among the firms reporting results on Friday.

Meanwhile, a slate of Fed speakers this week supported the view of another 25 basis point rate hike by the U.S. central bank when it meets next week. Traders have priced in an 82% chance of such a move, with many expecting them to hold before cutting rates by the end of 2023.

U.S. Treasury yields slipped, extending Thursday’s declines after data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week and a measure of future economic activity plunged to the lowest level in nearly 2-1/2 years in March.

At 5:57 a.m. ET, were down 8 points, or 0.02%, were down 0.75 points, or 0.02%, and were down 1.5 points, or 0.01%.

Tesla Inc rose 1.5% in premarket trade after it raised the U.S. prices for its Model S and X premium electric vehicles, although they are still 20% lower from the start of the year after a slew of price cuts aimed at stoking demand.

The stock fell 9.7% on Thursday as its first-quarter gross margins missed Wall Street targets after the company resorted to aggressive price cuts in January.

U.S.-listed shares of Chilean lithium miner SQM tumbled 7.6% after Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, said he would nationalize the country’s lithium industry, transferring control of its vast operations from industry giants to a separate state-owned company.

Shares of Albemarle (NYSE:) Corp dropped 3.9%, while Lithium Americas (NYSE:) Corp slipped 1.6%.

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