U.S. stock futures were little changed Friday as investors
considered mixed earnings.
S&P 500 futures added one point to 2099. E-mini Dow futures
were up two points to 17678. E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures gained six
points, or 0.1%, to 4625. Changes in stock futures don't always
accurately predict moves after the opening bell.
U.S. stocks have been driven by corporate results in recent
days, a turnaround from earlier this month when investors were
focused on developments in Greece's bailout talks. On Thursday, a
handful of disappointing results sent the Dow industrials lower.
And as in recent quarters, revenue growth has been hard to come by.
That's resulted in robust stock swings for certain companies with
sales gains.
"Companies that are able to profitably grow their businesses at
a reasonable clip are getting well-rewarded because it's proven to
be very hard to do so," said Larry Pitkowsky, co-portfolio manager
of the GoodHaven Fund, which has $274 million in assets. Mr.
Pitkowsky said he owns shares of Google Inc., which jumped earlier
this month after reporting an 11% increase in revenue.
Amazon said late Thursday it posted a profit of $92 million in
the second quarter as sales surged 20%. Shares of the online
retailer, which doesn't normally post a profit, soared 21%
premarket.
Visa said Thursday that profits rose 25% in its latest quarter.
Results beat estimates, boosting shares 6.2% premarket.
Shares of Biogen Inc., however, fell 11% premarket after the
biotechnology company cut its full-year outlook as sales growth for
its key multiple sclerosis drug continues to weaken. Second-quarter
results also missed expectations.
European stocks rose slightly after yet another sign of a modest
recovery in the eurozone economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2%
and France's CAC-40 gained 0.4%. The pace of business activity
growth slowed marginally in July, but output remained near
four-year highs despite the Greek crisis.
Gold prices resumed their decline Friday, with futures down 1.5%
to $1077.30 an ounce. Crude-oil futures rose 0.4% to $48.61.
The yield on the 10-year note fell slightly to 2.270% from
2.278% on Thursday. Yields fall as prices rise.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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