BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Up; Deals Eyed, BP Downgraded

15th Jun 2010 12:17

By Barbara Kollmeyer U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday with attention expected to focus on deals and data as well as a six-notch credit rating downgrade of under-fire oil giant BP. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46 points to 10187, while those for the S&P 500 rose 5.5 points to 1091.70. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 11.25 points to 1857.75. U.S. stocks ended lower Monday, with the Dow industrials surrendering more than a 120-point advance after Moody's Investor Service cut Greece's government-bond ratings by four notches to a junk-grade rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 20.18 points at 10190.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 0.36 points at 2,243.96, while the S&P 500 fell to a 0.2% loss overall. A cautious stance came from Joel Kruger, currency strategist with Daily FX, who said "the broad resurgence in risk appetite looks to be facing its first challenge" on Tuesday across many markets. "We would recommend looking to use Monday's lows in some of the major markets to gauge directional bias. Developments over the past several hours have produced a mixed sentiment towards risk, and taking to the sidelines seems to be a logical strategy," he said. U.S. economic data on the calendar includes June Empire State Manufacturing index and the June NAHB home builders' index. Among stocks in focus, shares of BP PLC (BP) were up 3% in pre-open trading, only partially recovering Monday's latest stumble. BP's credit rating was slashed by six notches at Fitch Ratings, while the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Environment will hold a hearing Tuesday with senior officials from Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSA.LN), and BP's U.S. president and chairman Lamar McKay. Later Tuesday, President Barack Obama will make his first Oval Office address, underlining the scale of the Gulf catastrophe and vowing to hold BP to account for the environmental damage wrought by its eight-week-old oil spill. Also in focus, News Corp. (NWSA) bid $11.5 billion for the shares it doesn't already own in U.K. satellite television provider British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN). BSkyB rejected the offer but entered into negotiations. News Corp. also owns MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. Apple Inc. (AAPL) could also be in focus after it unveiled a redesigned, energy-efficient Mac Mini desktop. Meanwhile, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) is planning a touch-screen smartphone with a slide-out keyboard and is experimenting with a tablet device, people familiar with the company 's plans told The Wall Street Journal. Quarterly results from Best Buy (BBY) are due ahead of the market open. European markets shook off early losses, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index rising 0.6%. Markets took in stride a sharply disappointing ZEW confidence survey for Germany, with the economic expectations index declining to 28.7 in June from 45.8 in May, against forecasts for a reading of 42.5. "June's drop in German ZEW investor sentiment is another sign that fears about peripheral debt are damaging sentiment towards core euro-zone economies," said Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist with Capital Economics. But Spain remains a focus for many investors. EU officials denied on Monday that they're readying a bailout package for Spain from the euro zone's support mechanism. "Spain continues to be the pivotal country for sentiment and the health of the financial system," said Jim Reid, strategist with Deutsche Bank AG (DB). Asia shares ended modestly higher, with property stocks leading Hong Kong. Crude oil futures were up 83 cents to $75.94 a barrel, while gold futures fell 10 cents to $1,224.40 an ounce. -By Barbara Kollmeyer; 34 91 395 8131; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 07:17 ET (11:17 GMT)