US STOCKS-Futures edge lower with earnings, economic data in focus
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Disney gains as board hikes dividend
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Spirit Airlines expects positive operating cash flow from Q2
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Arm jumps after raising FY forecasts, Q3 results beat
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PayPal falls after flat FY24 profit growth forecast
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Futures: Dow flat, S&P down 0.15%, Nasdaq down 0.14%
(Updated at 7:15 a.m. ET/1215 GMT)
By Johann M Cherian and Ankika Biswas
Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on Thursday, following a strong finish on Wall Street a day earlier, with investors sizing up big-ticket earnings reports and looking forward to data that could offer clues on the economy's health.
The benchmark S&P 500 notched a new record high on Wednesday, a whisker away from 5,000 points, as investors looked past uncertainty on the timing of interest rate cuts and jitters around the stability of some regional banks.
The Nasdaq is about 2.8% away from breaching its all-time high hit in November 2021, driven by an ongoing rally in technology and tech-adjacent stocks.
Walt Disney soared 7.4% in premarket trading after the media giant hit back at activist investors with a market-beating profit, a gaming investment and plans to launch an ESPN streaming service in 2025. It also announced a $3 billion share repurchase plan and a 50% increase in dividend.
Spirit Airlines expects to operate with a positive cash flow from the second quarter after reporting a narrower-than-expected loss. However, the stock was last down 0.1% in choppy trade.
More than half of the S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly earnings, with 81.2% surpassing expectations, compared with a long-term average of 67%, according to LSEG data earlier this week.
On the economic data front, jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 3 are due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists forecast a dip to 220,000 from 224,000 the week before.
"Economic growth is perfectly decent, especially when many were predicting a recession this time last year," David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said.
Meanwhile, remarks from policymakers are in focus, with voting member and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin expected to speak later in the day.
Throughout the week, central bankers have shown little urgency to start easing policy soon or to move quickly once they do, stating that more confidence was needed on inflation heading down to the 2% target.
At 7:15 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 13 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 7.5 points, or 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 25.5 points, or 0.14%.
New York Community Bancorp lost 5.8% a day after the lender sought to bolster investor confidence by appointing a new executive chairman and said it could cut exposure to the troubled commercial real estate segment.
Arm soared 27.3% after the British tech company forecast quarterly sales and profit above expectations as customers aim to design new chips for artificial intelligence work, generating higher royalties.
PayPal's forecast of flat growth in adjusted profit for the current year overshadowed its market-beating earnings report, sending shares of the payments giant down 9.7%.
Coach handbag maker Tapestry jumped 2.9% following a second-quarter revenue beat, while apparel maker Under Armour climbed 9.1% after raising its annual profit forecast. (Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shounak Dasgupta)
