US index futures are little changed
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
NEW YORK, July 21 (Bloomberg): US stock futures were little changed after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied to an eight-month high yesterday.
As many as 39 S&P 500 companies, including Caterpillar Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., are scheduled to report earnings today. Texas Instruments Inc. declined 1.1 per cent after the second-largest US semiconductor maker reported a 56 per cent drop in profit. Bemis Co. slipped 1.3 percent after the packaging company announced plans to sell 7.5 million shares to fund an acquisition.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September lost 0.1 per cent to 947.8 at 10:20 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures decreased 0.1 percent to 8,793, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures were little changed at 1,540.
“The information we have been seeing has been fairly positive and earnings have beaten so far by quite some margins,” said Nick Skiming, who helps oversee about $2 billion at Ashburton Ltd. in Jersey. “We need to see more from the earnings season to give us some kind guidance on the future direction of the market. I am cautiously optimistic.”
Per-share earnings beat projections by an average of 16 percent for S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results since July 8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts forecast profits fell an average 33 per cent in the second quarter and will decrease 20 percent from July through September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The S&P 500 yesterday rallied to its highest level since Nov. 5 as a gauge of future economic growth topped projections and speculation grew that CIT Group Inc. will avoid bankruptcy. The benchmark for US equities last week advanced 7 per cent as companies from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Intel Corp. reported results that topped analysts’ estimates.
Credit Suisse Group AG today advised investors to trim their holdings of government bonds and buy equities, reversing a recommendation from June. The bank raised its estimate for the S&P 500 by 14 per cent to 1,050 by the end of the year, citing improving economic indicators and earnings.
Investors should increase holdings of global equities to “overweight” and reduce government bonds to “benchmark,” according to London-based global strategist Andrew Garthwaite.
This follows Goldman Sachs yesterday which increased its year-end estimate for the measure to 1,060, up from a previous projection of 940.
Texas Instruments fell 1.1 per cent to $23.35 in pre-market New York trading after the company reported a 56 percent drop in second-quarter profit to $260 million and a 27 per cent decline in revenue. The chipmaker forecast sales will be $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion in the current quarter. Analysts on average projected sales of $2.53 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin March said the global economy is still in decline even though demand for chips used in smart phones had improved.
“There are still a fair amount of people concerned about TI’s ability to grow revenues,” said Doug Freedman, a San Francisco-based analyst at Broadpoint AmTech Inc.
Bemis lost 1.3 per cent to $26.75 in Germany after the largest producer of flexible packaging in the Americas said that it’s selling 7.5 million shares to fund the acquisition of Rio Tinto’s Alcan packaging unit.
CIT Group climbed 9.6 per cent to $1.37 in German trading after a 79 percent jump yesterday. The company late yesterday announced an agreement with bondholders to provide a $3 billion loan facility, saying $2 billion is available immediately, with the rest expected within 10 days.
As many as 39 S&P 500 companies, including Caterpillar Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., are scheduled to report earnings today. Texas Instruments Inc. declined 1.1 per cent after the second-largest US semiconductor maker reported a 56 per cent drop in profit. Bemis Co. slipped 1.3 percent after the packaging company announced plans to sell 7.5 million shares to fund an acquisition.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September lost 0.1 per cent to 947.8 at 10:20 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures decreased 0.1 percent to 8,793, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures were little changed at 1,540.
“The information we have been seeing has been fairly positive and earnings have beaten so far by quite some margins,” said Nick Skiming, who helps oversee about $2 billion at Ashburton Ltd. in Jersey. “We need to see more from the earnings season to give us some kind guidance on the future direction of the market. I am cautiously optimistic.”
Per-share earnings beat projections by an average of 16 percent for S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results since July 8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts forecast profits fell an average 33 per cent in the second quarter and will decrease 20 percent from July through September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The S&P 500 yesterday rallied to its highest level since Nov. 5 as a gauge of future economic growth topped projections and speculation grew that CIT Group Inc. will avoid bankruptcy. The benchmark for US equities last week advanced 7 per cent as companies from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Intel Corp. reported results that topped analysts’ estimates.
Credit Suisse Group AG today advised investors to trim their holdings of government bonds and buy equities, reversing a recommendation from June. The bank raised its estimate for the S&P 500 by 14 per cent to 1,050 by the end of the year, citing improving economic indicators and earnings.
Investors should increase holdings of global equities to “overweight” and reduce government bonds to “benchmark,” according to London-based global strategist Andrew Garthwaite.
This follows Goldman Sachs yesterday which increased its year-end estimate for the measure to 1,060, up from a previous projection of 940.
Texas Instruments fell 1.1 per cent to $23.35 in pre-market New York trading after the company reported a 56 percent drop in second-quarter profit to $260 million and a 27 per cent decline in revenue. The chipmaker forecast sales will be $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion in the current quarter. Analysts on average projected sales of $2.53 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin March said the global economy is still in decline even though demand for chips used in smart phones had improved.
“There are still a fair amount of people concerned about TI’s ability to grow revenues,” said Doug Freedman, a San Francisco-based analyst at Broadpoint AmTech Inc.
Bemis lost 1.3 per cent to $26.75 in Germany after the largest producer of flexible packaging in the Americas said that it’s selling 7.5 million shares to fund the acquisition of Rio Tinto’s Alcan packaging unit.
CIT Group climbed 9.6 per cent to $1.37 in German trading after a 79 percent jump yesterday. The company late yesterday announced an agreement with bondholders to provide a $3 billion loan facility, saying $2 billion is available immediately, with the rest expected within 10 days.