U.S. stock futures moved slightly lower Friday after a disappointing earnings report from Bank of America, according to AP. Bank of America said it lost more than $2 billion after preferred dividends in the third quarter, steeper than what analysts had been expecting. One of the largest recipients of government bailout funds, the bank also set aside more than $11 billion to offset bad loans, $5 billion more than in the year-ago period. The report followed weak results from General Electric Co., which said its profit dropped 44 percent in the most recent quarter, hurt by weakness in its financial unit, GE Capital. Solid earnings reports from Google Inc., IBM Corp. and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices after the closing bell Thursday lent some support to the market. Earnings reports from banks have been a key focus for the market this week. Investors want to see signs that credit losses are easing, which would be a sign that consumers and businesses are having an easier time paying off their debts. Surprisingly strong profit from JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday helped push the Dow Jones industrials over the 10,000 mark for the first time in a year, but slightly disappointing results from Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Thursday weighed on shares for much of the day before the market moved higher in the last few minutes of trading. Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 26, or 0.3 percent, to 9,938, after being down about 6 prior to Bank of America's report. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 2.90, or 0.3 percent, to 1,086.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 4.00, or 0.2 percent, to 1,744.50. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent. In late morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.2 percent. Analysts say stocks' wayward moves are to be expected, considering the size of the market's rally. But at the same time, analysts are encouraged that investors continue to wade back into the market on any dips, sensing an opportunity to take part in the rally. That momentum could continue to push stocks higher. Bond prices slipped in early trading. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.48 percent from 3.45 percent late Thursday. The dollar was slightly higher against other major currencies, while gold prices slipped. Oil prices shed 35 cents to $77.23 in electronic premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
