LONDON -- U.S. stock futures inched higher Monday, ahead of a
flurry of earnings releases from prominent companies such as
McDonald's Corp. and Halliburton Co., and as investors prepared for
a raft of delayed economic data due later in the week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21 points,
or 0.1%, to 15337, while those for the S&P 500 index added 1.30
points, or 0.1%, to 1737.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
gained 6.75 points, or 0.2%, to 3348.75.
"A cautious mood is generally the idea among traders today, as
we are set to unravel the batch of the delayed U.S. economic data.
The U.S. nonfarm-payroll data will kick start the economic engine
tomorrow, and if there was no government shutdown, this economic
data could have been the key factor in determining the tapering
quiz for the Federal Reserve's chairman, Ben Bernanke," said Naeem
Aslam, chief market analyst Avatrade, in a note.
"Given that we have another U.S. nonfarm reading due for October
in a few weeks, this nonfarm reading could carry not much other
importance than a footnote. [And seeing] that we had a government
shutdown for two weeks, the October nonfarm payroll data could very
well be skewed as well," he added.
The small gains for futures on Monday were a continuation of
last week's advances, when the S&P 500 index continued its
record run and posted its best weekly gain since mid-July, as
investors welcomed quarterly results from Google Inc. (GOOG) and
Morgan Stanley (MS).
Earnings were also among highlights on Monday, with the latest
update from Dow component McDonald's (MCD) on tap. The company is
projected to report third-quarter earnings of $1.51 a share,
according to a consensus survey by Thomson Reuters. Additionally,
Halliburton Co. (HAL) is likely to report third-quarter earnings of
82 cents a share, and Hasbro Inc. (HAS) is forecast to post
earnings of $1.29 a share likewise.
Gannett Co. (GCI) is projected to post earnings of 41 cents a
share in the third quarter, and VF Corp. (VFC) is likely to report
earnings of $3.78 a share in the same period.
And after the closing bell, streaming-media provider Netflix
Inc. (NFLX) is expected to post earnings of 49 cents a share in the
third quarter.
Later in the week, investors should brace for a flurry of data
releases as the reports delayed by the government shutdown will
start to come out. On Tuesday, the highly anticipated
nonfarm-payrolls report is due along with the unemployment
rate.
In other financial markets, gold prices and the dollar moved
higher, while oil prices slipped. European and Asian stock markets
were mostly higher.
Write to Sara Sjolin at AskNewswires@dowjones.com
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