Wall Street set to open flat as Amazon overshadows GDP data

By Yashaswini Swamynathan and Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - Wall Street looked set to open little changed on Friday as a drop in Amazon's stock rubbed the shine off data that showed the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years.

Gross domestic product increased at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the third quarter, helped by a surge in exports, the first estimate by the U.S. Commerce Department revealed.

"We continually ask ourselves, is the economy getting better or not, and I would say with this reading, the answer is yes ... But the problem is if GDP is very good then the Fed will raise rates," said Kim Forrest, research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

While the central bank is not expected to raise rates in its November meeting which falls just days before the U.S. presidential elections, it is most likely to pull the trigger in December.

Traders raised the prospects of a December hike to 83 percent after the GDP data from 78.3 percent, according to data from CME Group.

A more than 5 percent drop in Amazon, following its profit warning for the crucial holiday quarter, weighed on index futures. The stock is on track to open at a more than two-month low of $774.50.

"Right now we're seeing this tug-of-war between the sentiment that the earnings recession is ending versus worry when big companies such as Amazon and Apple fail to live up to expectations," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. Dow e-minis were up 7 points, or 0.04 percent, with 37,841 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.75 points, or 0.04 percent, with 233,650 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 4.5 points, or 0.09 percent, on volume of 34,415 contracts.

Investors expect the third quarter to mark the end of a year-long earnings recession as more companies beat expectations.

Profits at S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 2.6 percent, helped largely by financial companies, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. However, energy companies are expected to take a hit.

Wall Street slipped in choppy trading on Thursday as a decline in the consumer discretionary sector and interest-rate sensitive stocks outweighed gains in healthcare names.

Shares of Exxon Mobil fell 0.3 percent to $86.68 premarket on Friday after the oil giant reported a drop in quarterly earnings.

Google parent Alphabet was up 1.4 percent to $828.30 after the company's third-quarter revenue and profit beat analysts' expectations.

MasterCard rose 2.1 percent to $105.80 after the world's second-biggest payments processor reported a 21.2 percent jump in quarterly profit. Drug distributor McKesson plunged 16.4 percent to $134.25 percent, taking down peer Cardinal Health, after reporting a revenue in the second quarter that missed expectations. Baker Hughes soared 8.6 percent to $59.2 after GE said it was in discussion with the oilfield services provider on potential partnerships.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Don Sebastian)