US stock index futures slightly negative before data

US stock index futures were almost changed, following a Nasdaq Stock Market halt yesterday that affected thousands of stocks, as investors focus their attention on a report on sales of new houses.

Standard & Poors 500 futures expiring next month slipped 0.14% to 1,653.1 at 6:52 a.m. in New York, after earlier rising as much as 0.2%. The gauge has gained 0.1 percent this week as investors weighed Federal Reserve minutes that showed almost all policy makers agreed with plans to reduce the pace of monthly bond purchases if the economy continues to improve in line with forecasts. Future contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19 points, or 0.15%, to 14,920 today.

“After trading in positive territory earlier, U.S. stock futures are lower,” Stephane Ekolo, chief European strategist at Market Securities in London, wrote in a message for Bloomberg. “Maybe the Nasdaq incident is taking its toll on positive sentiment and some may blame the Fed minutes’ lack of clarity.”

A Commerce Department report at 10 a.m. in Washington may show new-house sales declined in July according to several analysts. Purchases dropped 2% to an annualized pace of 487,000 houses, from a 497,000 rate in June, predictions stated.

Pandora Media late on Thursday said its fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed to 3 cents a share from a loss of 4 cents a share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the Internet-radio company would have earned 4 cents a share, beating analysts’ forecast of 2 cents a share. However, Pandora’s outlook for the third quarter came in below Wall Street’s estimates. Shares of the company fell as much as 13% in after hours trading.

Gap reported its second-quarter earnings rose to 64 cents a share from 49 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected a profit of 63 cents a share. The retailer also raised its full-year outlook to a range of $2.57 to $2.65 a share, though analysts were looking for earnings of $2.77 a share.

Financial stocks are expected to be in focus after Moody’s placed six large banks on review. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo are being evaluated for possible downgrades while Bank of America and Citigroup are on review without predetermined direction.