BLBG: U.S. Index Futures Little Changed as Cigna Soars on Anthem Deal
U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after technology shares fell the most in two weeks, before earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp.
Anthem Inc. gained 3.8 percent in premarket trading after people familiar with the matter said it’s nearing a $48 billion deal to buy Cigna Corp., which rallied 4.9 percent. Eli Lilly & Co. rose 3.1 percent after raising its full-year earnings forecast. Qualcomm Inc. slid 2.1 percent after sales fell the most since 2009. American Express Co. lost 2.3 percent after saying quarterly profit fell.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index E-mini contracts expiring in September rose 0.1 percent to 2,110.25 at 7:17 a.m. in New York. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 14 points to 17,799. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.2 percent to 4,625.75. Disappointing results from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Inc. dragged stocks lower yesterday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index falling 0.7 percent.
“I’d be careful to make a call on this earnings season just yet,” said Kully Samra, who manages U.K. clients for Charles Schwab Corp. in London. “You can get swung about by surprises like Apple. Investors will wait to reassess their calls on the market once the fundamental picture clears up.”
McDonald’s Corp. and Visa Inc. are also among 55 S&P 500 companies due to report earnings today. Analysts now call for a 5.3 percent drop in second-quarter profit, shallower than July 10 estimates for a 6.4 percent decline.
Record Fail
The S&P 500 has gone without a fresh peak for the longest stretch since 2013, stuck in a pattern of nearing an all-time high without breaking it for two months now. The gauge is 0.8 percent away from its May record.
Among other stocks moving on corporate news, Las Vegas Sands Corp. rose 4.6 percent after the casino operator that gets most of its revenue from Macau reported second-quarter earnings there that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
SanDisk Corp. surged 13 percent after reporting almost double the profit that analysts had projected.
United Rentals Inc. fell 5.2 percent in extended trading after cutting its annual sales and profit forecasts.
Investors will also watch economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will start raising rates, with jobless claims data due later today.
