U.S. stock futures fall as China's economic growth slows

U.S. stock futures edged lower Wednesday as slower-than-normal growth in China set off a cautious tone ahead of massive slate of earnings. Futures on the S&P 500 ES 00 fell 0.4%, or 16 points to 4446.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, rose 382 points, or 1.09%, to 35295, the S&P 500 SPX, increased 33 points, or 0.5%, to 4471, and Nasdaq Composite COMP, gained 74 points, or 0.5%, to 14897 on Friday.

China recorded 4.9% year over -year growth in the second quarter, a big decline from 7.9% recorded in the third quarter as construction output slowed down. U.K. bond yields TMBMKGB - 02 Y, spiked after the Governor of the Bank of England said the central bank would have to act because of concerns that rising prices will lift medium-term inflation expectations. The U.S. Central Bank officials have not been as worried by the price increase in Egypt. There are also U.S. data on the way in the form of industrial production and homebuilder sentiment figures. Earnings season kicks into high gear this week with release from Netflix NFLX, Tesla TSLA, and IBM, among other. The percentage of companies exceeding expectations on both EPS and revenues has admittedly improved a little below the last quarter's levels, but both stats are still extremely strong relative to history at 79% for EPS and 82% for sales said strategists at RBC Capital Markets, led by Lori Calvasina. Most companies have also highlighted the continued strength in underlying demand, something that has enabled investors to look at past supply chain pressures at least to some extent.