US STOCKS-Futures slide as virus outbreak fans growth fears

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* Futures down: Dow 0.35%, S&P 0.33%, Nasdaq 0.24%

By Sruthi Shankar
Jan 31 (Reuters) - Caution about the economic impact of the
coronavirus epidemic knocked U.S. stock index futures lower on
Friday, more than offsetting a boost from the latest batch of
upbeat quarterly corporate earnings.
The main stock indexes were on course to round off the week
on a poor note as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared
the epidemic a global emergency. The fast-spreading virus has killed more than 200 people in
China and infected thousands globally, while disrupting supply
chains and curbing travel, prompting Wall Street economists to
temper their growth expectations for the country.
Fitch Solutions said it maintained its real GDP growth
forecast for China at 5.9% for 2020, but said it could drop to
5.4% because of the virus.
However, the fourth-quarter earnings season has been largely
positive, with Refinitiv data showing a 0.7% rise in profit for
S&P 500 companies that reported earnings through Thursday,
compared with a 0.6% decline estimated at the start of the
season.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O surged 10.5% in premarket trading
after it trumped Wall Street estimates for holiday-quarter
results, putting the online retailer back in the $1 trillion
market capitalization club. At 7:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 101 points,
or 0.35%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 11 points, or 0.33%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 22.25 points, or 0.24%.
Western Digital Corp WDC.O jumped 4.6% after forecasting
third-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations, while
International Business Machines Corp IBM.N gained 4.1% after
naming a new chief executive officer. Caterpillar Inc CAT.N was down 1.8% after the industrial
conglomerate forecast full-year earnings below analysts'
expectations as it struggles with sluggish global industrial
activity. Visa Inc V.N fell 2.7% as it fell short of analysts'
estimate for first-quarter revenue and warned revenue would be
crimped by incentives it provide to banking clients in 2020.