Stock futures slipped after the China manufacturing report

NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stock futures are falling as investors weigh fourth-quarter earnings reports, and a study out of China suggests the manufacturing sector of the world’s second-largest economy will soon shrink.

HOLDING RESULT: Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 74 points to 16,243 before the opening bell. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures lost 7 points to 1,832. Nasdaq futures fell 8 points to 3,612.

WATCH NETFLIX: After Wednesday’s closing bell, Netflix said it added 2.3 million customers in the last three months of 2013. The video streaming company’s fourth-quarter earnings increased sixfold compared to the same period last year.

PROFITS PICTURE: Union Pacific beat analyst forecasts, reporting a 13 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit on shipments of solid grain, automotive and industrial vehicles. McDonald’s also surprised analysts with earnings per share of $1.40, a penny better than expected, although comparable store sales fell, helped by a decline in the U.S.

INDUSTRIAL CHINA: The preliminary version of the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.6 this month from December’s reading of 50.5. This is the lowest reading in China since July, when it was 47.7. The index is based on a 100-point scale, where numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

TREASURES AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.83% from 2.86% on Wednesday. Oil rose 35 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $97.08 a barrel. Gold rose $11.10, or 0.9 percent, to $1,249.70 an ounce.

TAM: Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to close at 15,695.89 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.5 percent to 22,733.90. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.2%. to 1947.59. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 2,042.18. In European trading, Germany’s DAX fell 0.1 percent to 9,715.41 and the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies lost 0.1 percent to 6,820.00. However, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent to 4,335.56.