By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stock futures rose slightly Monday, boosted by
better-than-expected earnings from Morgan Stanley and Halliburton
Co.
S&P 500 futures added two points, or 0.1%, to 2121. E-mini
Dow futures rose 26 points, or 0.1%, to 18023. E-mini Nasdaq-100
futures advanced 11 points, or 0.2%, to 4661. Changes in stock
futures don't always accurately predict moves after the opening
bell.
Premarket moves were sparked by a stream of corporate earnings.
Including results from 62 companies in the S&P 500,
second-quarter earnings are on track to slip 3.6% from a year ago.
That is slightly better than the 4.5% decline forecast by analysts
heading into the reporting season.
Morgan Stanley said second-quarter profit slipped to $1.81
billion from $1.9 billion a year ago. Per-share earnings beat
expectations. Shares rose 2.8% in premarket trading.
Halliburton said second-quarter earnings plunged 93% as revenue
slumped on soft demand. Still, shares of the oil-services giant
rose 3.5% premarket as per-share earnings and revenue beat
expectations.
Hasbro Inc. reported better-than-expected profit and revenue in
its second quarter. Shares added 1.2% premarket.
The Nasdaq Composite Index ended at a record on Friday, its
second in a row, gaining 0.9% to 5210.14. The S&P 500 added
0.1% to 2126.64, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped
0.2% to 18086.45.
Receding fears about Greece's financial situation and a handful
of stronger-than-expected earnings reports have bolstered stocks in
recent sessions. For the month, the Dow has added 2.7% and the
S&P 500 has gained 3.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has
jumped 4.5%, after both Google Inc. and Netflix Inc. reported
robust revenue growth last week and saw huge one-day pops in their
shares.
"Last week, we had a combination of bank earnings and a
celebration that Greece was in the rearview mirror" driving stock
gains, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich
Securities. "We've moved beyond that. This week, we get reports
from a much broader swath of corporate America and that will give
us a better handle on just how strong the second quarter was," he
added.
European stocks advanced as Greek banks reopened after three
weeks, fueling confidence that Greece has avoided an exit from the
eurozone. Germany's DAX rose 1% and France's CAC-40 added 0.8%.
In commodity markets, gold futures slipped 1.7% to $1112.30 an
ounce, trading near five-year lows. Crude-oil futures slipped 0.2%
to $50.78 a barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed at
2.348%, compared with 2.349% on Friday. Yields fall as prices
rise.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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