What's coming up in stock markets

CSX cars

S&P 500 futures are up 5 points in a modest start after a 10 point decline yesterday sparked by some modestly negative comments from Trump on China.

One of the laggards will be railroad operator CSX who missed on both earnings and revenue projections, while lowering its 2019 revenue guidance to show a contraction this year from modest growth. Shares are down 6.4% premarket.

Both global and U.S. economic conditions have been unusual this year, to say the least, and have impacted our volumes. You see it every week in our reported carloads," Chief Executive James Foote said on a conference call late yesterday. "The present economic backdrop is one of the most puzzling I have experienced in my career."

Railroads are generally a good barometer of economic health and the poor numbers don't bode well. On the same call, a VP noted signs of slowing economic conditions and said he expected a "less robust" second half.

Earnings today included better than expected numbers from Bank of America but shares are still down 0.2% premarket. United Airlines shares are up 0.5% after an earnings beat that followed a curious 2.8% rally yesterday.

As for the US consumer, the buying continues. Amazon announced that it's two-day Prime Day event had sales that surpassed Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.