US stocks slip after mixed results from big banks

US stock index futures edged lower on Friday as big lenders including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings season with a mixed batch of results, while big technology companies extended declines after a bruising selloff.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) tumbled 3.0 per cent in premarket trading on reporting weaker performance at its trading arm, even as it beat earnings expectations for the fourth quarter.

Wells Fargo & Co , on the other hand, gained 1.8 per cent after posting a greater-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit. Asset manager BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) posted a fourth-quarter profit above estimates. However, its shares fell 0.1 per cent.

Year-over-year earnings growth from S&P 500 companies was expected to be lower in the fourth quarter compared with the first three quarters but still strong at 22.4 per cent, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The S&P 500 financial sector (.SPSY) is up nearly 6 per cent since the start of this year, outperforming the S&P 500 (.SPX), amid expectations of banks benefiting from interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and firming Treasury yields.

The financial sector has also benefited from a shift to economically sensitive sectors from growth sectors such as technology (.SPLRCT) and consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD).

Megacap growth companies including Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Amazon.com Inc , Microsoft (MSFT.O), Tesla (TSLA.O) and Meta (FB.O) fell up to 0.6 per cent a day after a selloff triggered by multiple Fed speakers who put talks about inflation and interest rate hikes in focus.

At 7:11 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 49 points, or 0.14 per cent, S&P 500 e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.17 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 44.25 points, or 0.29 per cent.

US casino operators Las Vegas Sands , MGM Resorts , Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) and Melco Resorts advanced between 3.5 per cent and 10.3 per cent after Macau’s government capped the number of new casino operators allowed to operate to six with an operating period of up to 10 years.

Investors will be eyeing retail sales data later in the day, with analysts expecting it to remain unchanged in December after a 0.3 per cent increase

in November.