BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Rise After J.P. Morgan Results

15th Jul 2010 12:16

By Barbara Kollmeyer U.S. stock futures moved higher on Thursday after J.P. Morgan Chase beat expectations on earnings, which soothed some investor news rattled by news of slowing Chinese growth. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed direction, rising 21 points to 10327, while those for the S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1094. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 6.75 points to 1858. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) shares rose in premarket trade after it said its second-quarter net profit jumped 76%, with profit rising to $4.8 billion, or $1.09 a share, from $2.72 billion, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the earnings topped analyst estimates. Markets also had deal news for Thursday, with private-equity firm The Carlyle Group set to buy nutritional supplements company NBTY Inc. (NTY) in a deal valued at $3.8 billion. U.S. stocks closed with slight gains Wednesday, with the Dow industrials just managing to extend their recent winning streak, as an upbeat forecast from Intel Corp. (INTC) vied with more disconcerting views on the U.S. economy from retailers and the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up ended up 3.7 points, or 0.04%, to 10366.72 for its seventh straight session of gains. "A second weak retail sales report in a row adds weight to the evidence that the U.S. is slowing--rate hikes are off the agenda for the foreseeable future," said Rob Carnell, chief international economist with ING in a note to investors. The market is facing a heavy data schedule for Thursday with weekly jobless claims, producer prices for June and the Empire State index for July, all at 8:30 a.m., EDT. Industrial production data for June will be released at 9:15 a.m., EDT, and Philly Fed data will be released at 10 a.m., EDT. Among other stocks in focus, shares Novartis AG (NVS) could be active after the Swiss pharmaceutical group reported second-quarter profit rose to $2.4 billion and the group lifted its sales outlook for the year. After the U.S. market close, Google Inc. (GOOG) will report its own results. Shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) could be in focus on Thursday. The group may keep its diabetes drug Avandia on the U.S. market following a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommendation, though the company announced $2.4 billion in legal charges. Europe shares moved higher after results from J.P. Morgan, as well as getting a lift from news the Spanish government sold $3.8 billion in 15-year bonds amid solid demand. Markets in Europe and Asia have seen some pressure from China news that second-quarter gross domestic product grew 10.3% over the same period a year earlier, slowing from the 11.9% annual growth recorded in the first quarter. That was below the 10.5% expansion predicted by economists surveyed by FactSet Research. "The overall picture suggests that economic activity is feeling the monetary policy tightening intended to cool down the housing market earlier this year," said analysts at UniCredit, who said data still shows more of a "controlled slowdown rather than a hard landing." Asian stocks finished mostly lower, particularly in Shanghai after the GDP data and a tepid debut for the Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (601288.SH, 1288.HK). In the currency markets, the euro gained 0.7% to $1.2818. -By Barbara Kollmeyer; 34 91 395 8131; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 15, 2010 07:16 ET (11:16 GMT)