SF: U.S. Stock-Index Futures Decline as Dollar Slips Versus Yen
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell and the dollar weakened against the yen for a second day before a report on consumer confidence and a Federal Reserve two-day meeting. European stocks were little changed and India’s rupee rebounded from a one-week low.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.4 percent at 7:15 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent. The dollar declined 0.4 percent versus the yen. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point after yesterday rising above 2 percent for the first time since April. India’s rupee strengthened for the first time in three days against the U.S. currency as the central bank took steps to shore up the economy.
U.S. consumer confidence probably slipped for a third month in January, economists said before data from the Conference Board. Twenty-five companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report earnings today. Most European stocks and commodities gained earlier after as reports from Germany to Australia signaled improved global sentiment.
“Each earnings season is a time of turbulence,” said Jacques Porta, who helps manage $627 million at Ofi Patrimoine in Paris. “There will be some locking in of profits. As the market is filtering all of the numbers, we can have more volatility.”
Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, gained 2.7 percent in pre-market trading after fourth-quarter profit exceeded estimates. Pfizer Inc. rose 1.5 percent after adjusted earnings per shares beat projections.
Earnings Scorecard
Of the 159 S&P 500 companies that have posted results this reporting season, 75 percent have beaten analysts’ estimates for profit and 67 percent have exceeded projections for sales.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent yesterday, snapping an eight- day rally.
The dollar weakened against 13 of its 16 major peers. The Fed’s latest round of bond buying will reach $1.14 trillion before it ends the program in the first quarter of 2014, according to median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
More than two stocks fell for every on that rose on the benchmark Stoxx 600. Software AG tumbled 15 percent after posting fourth-quarter profit, earnings and sales that missed analysts’ estimates.
Anglo Writedown
Anglo American Plc advanced 2.2 percent as JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the mining company’s $4 billion writedown was toward the bottom of its estimated range. The company said today that it will write down the sum because of additional costs at its Minas-Rio iron-ore project in Brazil. William Hill Plc jumped 2.7 percent after saying that people have wagered more money with the bookmaker.
India’s rupee strengthened 0.3 percent against the dollar as the central bank cut borrowing costs and the amount of deposits lenders must set aside as reserves.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.5 percent, snapping four days of losses. South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent, extending gains from a low on Dec. 3 to more than 20 percent, the threshold for a bull market. Russia’s Micex slid 0.6 percent and Brazil’s Bovespa slipped 0.1 percent.
--With assistance from Claudia Carpenter, Paul Dobson, Will Hadfield and Michael Shanahan in London. Editors: Stephen Kirkland, Stuart Wallace, Claudia Carpenter
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net
