BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Up Before Bernanke Testimony

21st Jul 2010 11:01

By Polya Lesova U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday, buoyed by Apple's stronger-than-expected results, as investors braced for testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and another barrage of earnings reports. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31 points to 10210. The Dow ended up 0.7% on Tuesday, reversing intraday triple-digit losses. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 11.75 points to 1851.50 and S&P 500 futures added 4.40 points to 1084.50. Sentiment was buoyed after Apple Inc. (AAPL) reported last night a surge in earnings due to booming demand for its iPhone and iPad devices. Strategists at Deutsche Bank AG (DB) said the spotlight Wednesday will be on Bernanke's monetary policy report to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. "Expectations that Bernanke may announce policy accommodation measures seemed to help risk assets recover from the softer housing-starts data and Goldman Sachs' earnings and revenue miss," they wrote in a note. Markets will "likely listen carefully to decipher any hints about the possibility of a U.S. double-dip (recession)." Bernanke will start speaking at 2 p.m., EDT, but before that investors will get a number of earnings reports from companies, including Morgan Stanley (MS), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX). Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) will also report. EBay Inc. (EBAY) and Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) are among the companies reporting after the U.S. stock market closes. In Frankfurt, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is expected to meet with European bank executives. The meeting comes ahead of the release of the results from the European bank stress tests on Friday. European shares posted convincing gains, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index trading up 1.4%. U.K. household products company Reckitt Benckiser PLC (RBGPY, RB.LN) agreed to buy SSL International PLC (SSL.LN) in a $3.89 billion deal that will add the Durex and Scholl brands to its portfolio. In Milan, shares of Fiat SpA (FIATY, F.MI) rallied 6% after the car maker reported a return to second-quarter profit and said it may raise its full-year outlook in the next quarter. In the currency markets, the euro fell 0.3% to $1.2851. Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank said that the sharp rise of the Swiss franc, particularly against the euro, resulted in exchange-rate losses of more than EUR14 billion Swiss francs ($13.3 billion) in the first half of the year. In electronic trading, September crude-oil futures rose 59 cents to $78.17 a barrel ahead of government data on U.S. petroleum inventories. Gold futures were little changed at $1,190.80 an ounce. -By Polya Lesova; 49 69 29725517; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 06:01 ET (10:01 GMT)