MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stock Futures Point To Modest Gains, With Apple Set To Take The Spotlight
October 25 2016 - 08:07AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Whirlpool earnings miss market expectations
U.S. stock futures indicated Wall Street will see modest gains
Tuesday, with a wave of earnings set to envelop the market,
including reports from Dow constituents Merck and Procter &
Gamble and then Apple after the bell.
Adding to the mix will be updates from the housing and consumer
fronts.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18 points, or
0.1%, to 18,152.00 and futures for the Nasdaq-100 were higher by
7.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,910.75. S&P 500 futures pared their
gain to 2 points, or 0.1%, at 2,146.25n
Gains Tuesday would follow a win for Wall Street on Monday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/merger-monday-sets-us-stocks-on-track-for-gains-2016-10-24),
which saw a flurry of merger announcements including the planned
purchase of Time Warner (TWX) by AT&T (T) . The S&P 500
closed up by 0.5% and is now roughly 2% below its all-time high set
on Aug. 15. Dow industrials closed up 77 points, or 0.4%, and the
Nasdaq Composite tacked on 52 points, or 1%.
"Equity markets began the week on a positive note with M&A
activities, positive earnings and better0than-expected data from
the eurozone and U.S. all boosting appetite to risk," said FXTM
Chief Market Strategist Hussein Sayed in a note.
"Equity bulls would need positive earnings to resume this week
and for the tech sector to take the lead from the financials, with
the two largest publicly traded companies, Apple and Alphabet to
announce results," he added.
Alphabet's report is set for Thursday. But Apple's is due late
Tuesday.
Analysts expect to see Apple(AAPL) report earnings at the high
end of its fourth-quarter forecast
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-sales-likely-to-fall-again-despite-samsung-woes-2016-10-24),
aided by the iPhone 7 launch and new customers switching from
Android after Samsung Electronics' exploding Note 7 troubles.
However, analysts are also projecting the third-straight quarterly
decline in iPhone unit sales.
Quarterly reports were already rolling in ahead of the bell,
including figures from chemicals producer DuPont and appliance
maker Whirlpool.
Economic data: At 9 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P/Case-Shiller
reading on house prices in August is due.
Then at 10 a.m. Eastern, the Conference Board's October survey
of consumer confidence is slated for release, and analysts polled
by MarketWatch expect the gauge to dip to 101.0 from 104.1 in
September.
There are no Fed speakers on Tuesday's schedule.
Corporates: Shares in Whirlpool(WHR) fell 4% premarket after the
appliance maker reported third-quarter profit and sales that missed
expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whirlpool-slumps-43-premarket-after-profit-miss-2016-10-25),
and issued a downbeat outlook.
Merck shares (MRK) rose 2.5% before trading opened after the
drugmaker's third-quarter earnings and sales came in above
expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/merck-shares-climb-3-after-third-quarter-earnings-beat-2016-10-25).
Chemicals maker DuPont(DD) ahead of the bell raised its yearly
profit forecast and posted quarterly earnings that outstripped
expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dupont-lifts-yearly-profit-view-as-sales-increase-2016-10-25).
The company is working on its merger with Dow Chemical (DOW) .
Procter & Gamble Co.(PG) added 1.1% before the open after
the consumer goods company reported earnings ahead of forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/procter-gamble-shares-rise-after-earnings-beat-2016-10-25).
General Motors (GM) rose 2% premarket as auto giant's quarterly
profit doubled
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/general-motors-earnings-more-than-double-2016-10-25-74853840).
GM also posted higher revenue on strong U.S. truck sales. But it
signaled continued weakness in Europe because of the fallout from
the U.K.'s pending exit from the European Union, or Brexit.
Other markets: Oil futures were higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-drift-south-as-upcoming-opec-meeting-starts-to-look-like-a-bust-2016-10-25)
and gold futures were also gaining. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
tilted slightly lower
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-holds-strength-in-wake-of-upbeat-session-for-us-stocks-2016-10-25).
European stocks
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-gain-as-german-business-mood-rises-to-25-year-high-2016-10-25)
were modestly higher and Asian shares
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mixed-after-report-of-korean-economic-slowdown-2016-10-24)
were mixed following data that pointed to a slowdown for South
Korea's economy.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2016 07:52 ET (11:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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