Texas Instruments and FedEx in focus after cutting forecasts
LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures stepped higher Tuesday, following two sessions of strong gains, after lawmakers sent an auto-industry-rescue plan to the White House, while Texas Instruments and FedEx cut their earnings forecasts.
S&P 500 (SPY:
91.00, +3.07, +3.5%) futures rose 7.20 points to 911.90 and Nasdaq 100 (QQQQ:
89.12, +2.53, +2.9%) futures gained 58 points.
U.S. markets climbed Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at its highest level in a month, as investors cheered President-elect Barack Obama's pledge on infrastructure investment and a likely deal for the auto industry. The Dow industrials rose 298.72 points, the S&P 500 jumped 33.63 points and the Nasdaq 100 gained 62.43 points.
In focus on the economic front Tuesday will be the latest figures on October pending home sales, which are due after the market opens at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time.
The dollar strengthened against most currencies but slipped against the yen. The euro fell 0.2% to $1.2882, while the dollar was down 0.5% against the Japanese currency at 92.52 yen.
Oil prices also remained fairly steady in electronic trading after Monday's rise. Light crude for January delivery slipped 27 cents to $43.44 a barrel.
The auto industry is set to remain in focus after Democratic leaders sent the White House a $15 billion bill to rescue the sector.
The proposal, which reportedly could give the government an ownership stake in the industry, requires long-term restructuring plans and other concessions from the Big Three in exchange for a federal lifeline. See full story.
The latest round of profit warnings and job cuts rolled on, with TI (TXN:
14.82, +0.26, +1.8%) and FedEx (FDX:
74.43, +0.72, +1.0%) cutting their forecasts late Monday.
Texas Instruments said it expects to report fourth-quarter earnings of 10 cents to 16 cents a share, compared with a previous forecast of 30 cents to 36 cents a share.
FedEx cut its earnings view for the year to a range of $3.50 to $4.75 a share. It had been expecting $4.75 to $5.25.
Also Tuesday, Sony Corp. (SNE:
20.04, +1.10, +5.8%) said it plans to cut 8,000, or 5%, of the jobs in its electronics division, as well as close manufacturing sites worldwide in an effort to save around $1.1 billion.
In international markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 1.7%.
