US stock index futures rose today, indicating the S&P 500 may snap a two-day decline, after better-than expected results from Microsoft and General Electric propelled a solid earnings season.
GE rose 1.4 per cent to $19.40 in premarket trading after the largest US conglomerate's first-quarter profit topped estimates, helped by strong sales of jet engines and energy equipment as well as profit growth at its finance arm.
Microsoft gained 3.6 per cent to $32.13 premarket as the maker of the Windows operating system posted profit that beat expectations late Thursday as personal computer sales held up better than expected.
"GE was really strong, Microsoft had some good news. Those are probably the two biggest companies that pop out," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
"GE's number's especially because it is a bellwether for the industrials and it's global. They beat on revenues, which they haven't really been able to do in a long time, and that really bodes well for industrials in particular."
Kimberly-Clark posted higher quarterly profit as the maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies trimmed costs to deal with some US weakness.
Air conditioner maker Ingersoll Rand posted profit topped the Wall Street view early Friday and forecast full-year profit within estimates.
Other major companies due to announce results today include McDonald's Corp and Gilead Sciences.
Of the 105 S&P 500 components reporting through yesterday , 81.9 per cent beat analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.
S&P 500 futures rose 6 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 49 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 12.25 points.
Advanced Micro Devices climbed 1.6 per cent to $8.10 premarket as the chipmaker forecast revenue above expectations late yesterday in another sign that PC demand was holding up better than anticipated.
US healthcare group Johnson & Johnson, which secured European Union clearance yesterday to purchase Swiss medical device maker Synthes for about $21 billion, expects to close the deal in the current quarter.
In Europe, a rebound in bank shares offset losses in the technology and energy sectors and kept a key equities index on track for its first weekly gain in nearly a month.
Asian shares fell after disappointing US economic data stirred doubts about the strength of the recovery.
Reuters