By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday, boosted by
stronger-than-expected earnings at United Technologies Corp. and
Verizon Communications Inc.
S&P 500 futures added nine points, or 0.4%, to 2100. E-mini
Dow futures rose 75 points, or 0.4%, to 18019, and e-mini
Nasdaq-100 futures gained 20 points, or 0.5%, to 4428. Changes in
stock futures don't always accurately predict moves in the stock
market after the opening bell.
United Technologies said its sales fell about 1% in the first
quarter due to the strengthening dollar and a decline in its
Sikorsky aircraft segment. Earnings beat Wall Street expectations,
though revenue fell short. Shares rose 1.1% premarket.
Verizon reported first-quarter earnings that topped expectations
as it added 565,000 of the wireless industry's most profitable
customers. Shares rose 0.5% premarket.
DuPont Co. said the strengthening U.S. dollar will hurt its
earnings for the year more than it estimated in January, though it
still expects earnings to come in at the low end of its guidance of
$4 to $4.20 a share as it intensifies cost cuts. The company also
reported sales declines across all of its segments. Earnings came
in above Wall Street expectations for the first three months of the
year, pushing shares up 0.2% in premarket trading.
Stocks rose Monday, snapping two straight sessions of declines.
The Dow rose 1.2% to 18034.93 and the S&P added 0.9% to
2100.40. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3% to 4994.60.
Including results from 77 companies, first-quarter earnings for
S&P 500 companies are on track to fall 4.2% from a year ago,
according to FactSet. Analysts had slashed earnings estimates
leading up to the reporting season, citing concerns about the
strong dollar's drag on earnings at multinational companies and the
hit to energy earnings from low oil prices. About 79% of the
S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have beat those
lowered earnings estimates.
"We don't anticipate any big surprises out of earnings," said
Janet Engels, director of the portfolio advisory group at RBC
Wealth Management. "We do expect earnings will beat the current
expectations, but that's been the history," she said. "I'm not sure
that it is in the very near term enough to drive the market wildly
higher," she added.
In Europe, France's CAC 40 added 0.3% and Germany's DAX gained
0.8%. Continued concerns about a Greek debt default pushed Greek
yields to fresh multiyear highs and weighed on Greek stocks. Bond
yields rise as prices fall.
The euro fell to $1.0700 from $1.0739 on Monday.
In commodity markets, gold futures rose 0.6% to $1201.40 an
ounce. Crude-oil futures slipped 0.7% to $57.50 a barrel.
Treasury prices rose, pushing the 10-year yield down to 1.872%
from 1.897% on Monday.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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