BLBG: U.S. Index Futures Are Little Changed as EBay Slides, AmEx Rises
U.S. stock-index futures were little changed as investors assessed mixed earnings reports and the final presidential debate.
American Express Co. rallied 6.1 percent after boosting its projection for annual profitability. United Rentals Inc. climbed 4.6 percent as it posted earnings that beat estimates. EBay Inc.
tumbled 8.1 percent after forecasting fourth-quarter revenue and profit that may miss projections. Verizon Communications Inc. dropped 2.4 percent after adding fewer monthly mobile subscribers than analysts had predicted.
S&P 500 Index futures expiring in December rose 0.1 percent to 2,140 at 7:58 a.m. in New York, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 21 points to 18,146. Contracts remained steady after the European Central Bank kept its quantitative-easing program and interest rates unchanged. Investors will now listen for clues on the monetary policy path when President Mario Draghi holds a press conference at 8:30 a.m.
“It’s started off to be a reasonable environment so far in terms of earnings,” said Patrick Spencer, London-based vice chairman of equities at Robert W. Baird, which manages $151 billion. “I suspect that is going to continue, that the trend of surprising on the upside is going to be a feature in this quarter. That will continue to support the market.”
Futures rose as much as 0.3 percent as the last presidential debate before the Nov. 8 elections drew to a close. A CNN/ORC poll of watchers showed 52 percent judged Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the winner, compared with 39 percent for Republican Donald Trump.
The S&P 500 climbed for the past two days, trimming its monthly decline to 1.1 percent amid a spate of results that are showing signs that companies may break a five-quarter streak of declining profits. Microsoft Corp. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are among firms due to release earnings today.
Stocks swings have been on the wane, with the CBOE Volatility Index falling for a third day. The measure of market turmoil known as the VIX has declined 15 percent since Oct. 13, and is poised for its lowest level in more than a week.
S&P 500 Index futures expiring in December rose 0.1 percent to 2,140 at 7:58 a.m. in New York, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 21 points to 18,146. Contracts remained steady after the European Central Bank kept its quantitative-easing program and interest rates unchanged. Investors will now listen for clues on the monetary policy path when President Mario Draghi holds a press conference at 8:30 a.m.
“It’s started off to be a reasonable environment so far in terms of earnings,” said Patrick Spencer, London-based vice chairman of equities at Robert W. Baird, which manages $151 billion. “I suspect that is going to continue, that the trend of surprising on the upside is going to be a feature in this quarter. That will continue to support the market.”
Futures rose as much as 0.3 percent as the last presidential debate before the Nov. 8 elections drew to a close. A CNN/ORC poll of watchers showed 52 percent judged Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the winner, compared with 39 percent for Republican Donald Trump.
The S&P 500 climbed for the past two days, trimming its monthly decline to 1.1 percent amid a spate of results that are showing signs that companies may break a five-quarter streak of declining profits. Microsoft Corp. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are among firms due to release earnings today.
Stocks swings have been on the wane, with the CBOE Volatility Index falling for a third day. The measure of market turmoil known as the VIX has declined 15 percent since Oct. 13, and is poised for its lowest level in more than a week.
Central banks have held sway over equity markets this year, with investors parsing economic data and comments by officials for hints on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate increase. Traders are pricing in less than one-in-five odds of a hike at the next meeting that takes place days before the presidential election, and a 64 percent probability of a move in December. Reports on jobless claims and existing home sales are due later today.
While fewer than a fifth of the S&P 500 companies have reported results so far, 81 percent of them beat earnings expectations, while 68 percent topped sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
