U.S. stock-index futures gain as Apple rises on holiday forecast

LONDON – U.S. stock-index futures rose, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend its biggest three-day rally since April, after earnings reports at companies including Apple Inc. and United Technologies Corp.

The iPhone maker advanced 2 percent in early New York trading after forecasting record sales in the holiday quarter. United Technologies, Travelers Cos. and Texas Instruments Inc. also rose after posting financial results that beat analysts’ estimates. AbbVie Inc. climbed 1.5 percent after announcing a share buyback. Coca-Cola Co. lost 3.2 percent after saying it will miss its 2014 profit-growth target.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December rose 0.4 percent to 1,906.6 at 8:05 a.m. in New York, after earlier losing as much as 0.7 percent. Better-than-expected earnings and consumer confidence at a seven-year high have helped buoy the S&P 500 in the past three days. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts rose 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,364 today.

“Now we can finally focus on earnings in the U.S.,” Kully Samra, who helps manage U.K. clients at Charles Schwab Corp. in London, said by phone. His firm oversees about $2.4 trillion globally. “Apple’s numbers were stunning, so that should help markets. So far, earnings numbers look OK.”

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About 77 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results this season exceeded profit projections, while 61 percent beat revenue estimates. Profit for index members rose 5.9 percent in the third quarter and sales increased 4 percent, analysts projected. Broadcom Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. are among the 24 S&P 500 companies reporting today.

S&P rebound

The S&P 500 has rebounded after falling to its lowest level since April last week. Concern that a slowdown in global growth would hurt the world’s largest economy coming as the Federal Reserve winds down stimulus erased $1.8 trillion in U.S. equity values from Sept. 6 to Oct. 16.

A report on existing home sales today will help investors gauge the strength of the U.S. economy. They probably increased 1 percent in September, according to the median economist forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Sales of previously owned homes fell 1.8 percent in August.

Apple gained 2 percent to $101.76 after saying revenue in the current quarter will be $63.5 billion to $66.5 billion. That compares with the $63.5-billion average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey and exceeds Apple’s holiday sales at the end of last year. The company introduced bigger-screen iPhones, slimmer iPads and a mobile-payments service this year.

Encouraging earnings

Encouraging releases also spurred shares of other companies. United Technologies added 1.5 percent to $103 after posting better-than-estimated earnings for the third quarter. Travelers advanced 1.4 percent to $94.50 after reporting operating profit that surpassed projections. Texas Instruments added 2.2 percent to $45.40 after forecasting fourth-quarter net income beating predictions. Illumina Inc. rallied 9.1 percent to $179.50 after raising its annual profit projection.

AbbVie climbed 1.5 percent to $55.20. After terminating a $52 billion deal to buy Shire Plc, the drugmaker announced a $5 billion share buyback over the next several years and increased its quarterly dividend by 17 percent to 49 cents per share.

Actavis Plc rose 2.3 percent to $231.94 in late New York trading after people familiar with the matter said the drugmaker is among bidders for Omega Pharma NV. The potential suitors are carrying out due diligence and final offers for the Belgian consumer health-care company are due by the beginning of November, the people said.

Coca-Cola dropped 3.2 percent to $41.90. The world’s largest beverage company also posted third-quarter revenue that missed estimates. It embarked on a plan to cut $3 billion in annual expenses by 2019.

Lockheed Martin Corp. slipped 1.4 percent to $173 after saying sales will fall next year. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. lost 5.1 percent to $620 after saying 2015 revenue growth may slow. McDonald’s Corp. fell 1.7 percent to $90.02 after reporting third-quarter sales that missed analyst projections.

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