Wall Street set for weak open as Trump speech disappoints

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump gave little clarity on his promises of boosting economic growth that had powered a record-breaking rally on Wall Street for two months.

Trump, in his first news conference on Wednesday, gave no details on tax cuts or infrastructure spending, and instead lashed out at U.S. spy agencies and news agencies over what he called a 'phony' Russia dossier.

He also blasted pharmaceutical companies over high drug prices, causing health stocks to snap a six-day winning streak and a wobble in Wall Street.

However, a rise in energy and technology stocks helped the market close higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq ending at a record high for the fourth session in a row.

Dow e-minis were down 36 points, or 0.18 percent at 8:32 a.m. ET on Thursday, with 21,201 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were down 5.5 points, or 0.24 percent, with 131,309 contracts traded and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 13.75 points, or 0.27 percent, on volume of 23,981 contracts.

"The indices are trading lower as investors rethink yesterday Trump press conference," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

"The fact that there was no mention of fiscal policy is weighing on the greenback this morning (and) causing a cautious mood in the equity arena."

The dollar fell to its lowest level in nearly one month on Thursday. Prices of safe-haven gold rose to their highest since late November.

With Trump's comments at the back of their minds, investors will turn their focus to the earnings season, which will kick off in earnest on Friday when a trio of big banks report.

S&P 500 companies' earnings in the fourth quarter are estimated to have risen 5.7 percent - the best in three years - largely due to a rise in financial stocks, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Merck, one of the few health stocks that avoided the carnage in the sector on Wednesday, gained 1.4 percent to $62.52 premarket after multiple broker upgrades.

The drugmaker's fellow Dow component Disney Co was off 1 percent at $108.28 after Pivotal cut its rating on the stock to 'sell'.

Apple was off 0.58 percent at $118.97.

A report from the U.S. Labor Department showed the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefit rose less than expected to 247,000 last week. Economists had estimated a rise to 255,000.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)