U.S. stock index futures edged higher Friday, pointing to a modest start to May trading after Wall Street finished April with one of its strongest monthly gains in years.
S&P 500 futures rose 3.7 points to 873.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 5 points to 1,398.50. Dow industrial futures rose 39 points.
"April has been a bumper month for global equities and as we move into the next month investors' confidence remains high despite some poor bits of news," said Ian Griffiths, a dealer at CMC Markets.
Analysts warn that recent gains could still prove fragile, however, particularly since much of the rally was attributed to earnings results that proved better than expected.
Bullishly-received first-quarter earnings data came amid an overall fall in revenue, with upside earnings surprises driven by cost control and reduced or widened guidance, said Dan Greenhaus, an equity strategists at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York.
"To undergo a longer term and sustainable advance, companies must grow revenue and they must grow earnings. It is simply a fact," Greenhaus said. "For all the conversation that goes on regarding stabilization in the economy, we still find ourselves in a very deep hole with some very powerful forces working against us."
Meanwhile, markets are nervously awaiting results of "stress tests" of U.S. banks expected next week. The timing of the release of the tests is in doubt, however, after news reports said bank executives are debating preliminary findings with examiners.
The results, set for release May 4, may now be delayed until the end of the week, Bloomberg reported.
The Institute for Supply Management releases its April manufacturing survey at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Data on March factory orders and the revised April Michigan consumer-sentiment survey are also set for release.
Credit-card processing giant MasterCard Inc. said on Friday that its first-quarter profit slipped to $367.2 million, or $2.80 a share, from $446.9 million, or $3.37 a share, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected the company to earn $2.61 a share in the first quarter.
First-quarter earnings results for Aon Corp. came in below expectations Friday.
The company said its first-quarter net profit rose 28% to $280 million, or 97 cents a share, from $218 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. The risk-management-services company said adjusted earnings from continuing operations for the quarter were 76 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting earnings of 87 cents a share on revenue of $2.08 billion.
Citigroup said Friday it's selling its Japanese domestic securities business to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in a deal with a total cash value of 774.5 billion yen ($7.9 billion). See full story.
Security-software maker McAfee Inc. late Thursday said its first-quarter net income rose to $51.8 million, or 34 cents a share, from $30.2 million, or 18 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding special items, McAfee said earnings for the quarter were 57 cents a share.
Analysts on average had been estimating McAfee would post earnings excluding special items of 48 cents a share, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Insurer MetLife Inc. reported a first-quarter net loss of $574 million, or 71 cents a share, after the closing bell Thursday. That compares to net income of $615 million, or 84 cents a share, a year earlier. Operating earnings, which exclude net realized investment gains and losses, were $159 million, or 20 cents a share, in the latest period.
MetLife was expected to make 34 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 19 analysts in a Thomson Reuters survey.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17.61 points, or 0.2%, Thursday to close at 8,168.12, leaving the blue-chip index with a 7.3% April rise. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 872.81, for a 0.4% monthly gain, its strongest since March 2000. The Nasdaq Composite rose 5.36 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,717.30, for a 12.3% April gain.
The Nikkei 225 rallied 1.7% in Tokyo. The FTSE 100 was flat in London, while most other European bourses were closed for the May Day holiday.
The dollar rose 0.7% against the Japanese yen to trade at 99.21 yen. The euro rose 0.4% versus the greenback to $1.3280.
Oil futures were 3 cents lower at $51.10 a barrel.
Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds edged up 2 basis points to 3.14%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.
Gold futures fell $7.90 an ounce.
