Wall Street barely budged early today, the Associated Press reports, as more companies posted quarterly earnings and the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares to convene its latest monetary policy meeting and talk about interest rates. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% before the bell, while futures for the technology-laden Nasdaq climbed 0.3%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged.
PayPal and JetBlue both reported higher-than-expected profit today for the second quarter, and shares rose accordingly. JetBlue had been projected by most industry analysts to post a quarterly loss, and its per-share profit of 8 cents sent shares up more than 3% before the opening bell. PayPal’s surprisingly strong profit was fueled by an 8% year-over-year jump in revenue.
Pharmaceutical giant Merck also beat sales and profit targets, but its shares slid 1.8% after it cut its full-year profit guidance due to acquisition expenses. Shares of Pfizer rose before the opening bell after it boosted its outlook for 2024.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 52 cents to $75.29 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 53 cents to $78.52 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 154.89 Japanese yen from 154.00 yen.
