LONDON -- Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.46%) may open up by 0.18% this morning. CNN's Fear & Greed Index is set to open today at 58, unchanged from Friday's close of 58.
Overnight news that China's economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.5% during the second quarter of this year -- down from 7.7% in the first quarter -- dominated markets this morning. The figures were in line with analysts' recently downgraded targets, but they confirmed investors' fears that the country's growth is continuing to slow. However, most Asian stock markets closed slightly higher on relief that the Chinese figures were not any worse than expected.
European markets edged cautiously higher after opening, while oil prices slipped back slightly and the price of gold stayed firm following the news from China. In Europe, France's "AAA" credit rating was downgraded by Fitch to "AA+," making it the third of the major credit-rating agencies to downgrade France, but the change had little impact on bond markets. At 8 a.m. EDT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.42%, the DAX was up 0.2%, and France's CAC 40 was up by 0.43%, while Spain's IBEX 35 index was down by 0.54% as corruption allegations continued to place pressure on the country's prime minister.
Today's U.S. economic reports include June's retail sales, which are due at 8:30 a.m. EDT and are expected to rise by 0.9% after gaining 0.6% in May, driven by strong growth in auto sales. July's Empire State Manufacturing Survey is also due at 8:30 a.m. EDT and is expected to fall to 5.9 from 7.8 in June, while May's business inventories report, due at 10 a.m. EDT, is expected to remain unchanged after inventories rose by 0.3% in April.
Earnings season picks up speed today. Citigroup (C -1.09%) started things off this morning, reporting a 26% rise in adjusted quarterly profit to $3.89 billion, or $1.25 per share, on revenue of $20.5 billion. This handily beat the consensus forecast of $1.18 in EPS and $19.75 billion in revenue. Citigroup's shares were up 1.8% in premarket trading. Other companies due to report earnings today include Wynn Resorts, Brown & Brown, Cintas Corp, Gardner Denver, and JB Hunt Transport Services.
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