MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Industrials Set To Hover At Record As Banks Kick Off Earnings Season

Consumer prices, retail sales also headline a busy day

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was poised to hover around record highs on Friday, though stock futures pointed to slight caution with mixed earnings reports from major banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo.

Dow industrials futures were flat at 21,509, while those for the S&P 500 were up by a point to 2,446.50. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 19 points to 5,816.

On Thursday, the Dow industrials logged its 24th record close this year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-aims-for-fresh-record-as-yellen-emboldens-bulls-2017-07-13), driven by gains for the financial and retail sectors. The index rose 0.1% to finish at 21,553.09. The S&P 500 index added 0.2% while the Nasdaq Composite picked up 0.2%, its fifth-straight positive close.

Need to Know:Here's a quirkier game plan for markets that are 'priced for perfection' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-a-quirkier-game-plan-for-markets-that-are-priced-for-perfection-2017-07-14)

On the whole, it has been a winning week for stocks, led by a nearly 2% gain for the Nasdaq, a roughly a 1% gain for the S&P 500 and a 0.7% rise for the DJIA ahead of Friday's session. Dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in Capitol Hill testimony boosted stocks this week.

Friday marks a big day for the start of second-quarter earnings season as major banks haved reported ahead of the bell.

Stocks to watch: J.P. Morgan(JPM) beat expectations on both revenue and profit, but shares gave up an early initial gain to turn about 1% lower.

Citi (C) reported earnings that were better than expected (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/citigroup-tops-profit-and-revenue-estimates-2017-07-14), but it did show signs of a slowdown in trading, with overall trading revenue down 4% and fixed-income trading revenue off 6%. Shares of the bank were trading up 0.4% after initially slipping more than 1%.

Wells Fargo & Co.(WFC) reported second-quarter results that were better than expected but shares traded lower in premarket.

Ahead of those results, Wall Street had been expecting banks to deliver a weak quarter, potentially kicking off the latest in a string of disappointing earnings seasons (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-earnings-expect-another-meh-quarter-of-weak-trading-revenue-2017-07-10). The shine has come off the sector as hopes have faded that President Donald Trump will push through structural reforms and boost the economy. Disappointment from banks could weigh on the broader market, warned some.

"Soft financial results could dent the appetite and pull...U.S. stocks down from their all-time high levels," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at LCG, in a note to clients.

Read:Four key sectors to watch closely this earnings season (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/four-key-sectors-to-watch-closely-this-earnings-season-2017-07-13)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/four-key-sectors-to-watch-closely-this-earnings-season-2017-07-13)Data on tap:The consumer price index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-goes-nowhere-in-june-cpi-shows-2017-07-14), or cost of living, was unchanged last month, largely due to lower gasoline prices. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the consumer-price index rose 0.1% month-on-month in June, while core inflation is seen coming in at 0.2%.

Retail sales dropped 0.2% in June.

At 9:15 a.m., June industrial production and capacity utilization will be released.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will speak on Fed and monetary policy in Mexico City at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.

Other markets: In Asia , markets ended the day with modest gains. European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-waver-but-best-week-in-two-months-in-sight-2017-07-14) stocks were mixed, but still looking at the best week in two months. A stronger British pound was weighing on the FTSE 100 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stronger-pound-holds-ftse-100-back-for-2nd-day-2017-07-14) for a second day.

Oil prices firmed up, along with gold , while the dollar was easing back slightly.

Read:Saudi Arabia's worst-case oil scenario might surprise you ()

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2017 08:50 ET (12:50 GMT)