CORRECT: BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Lower Ahead Of Alcoa Results

12th Jul 2010 12:56

("BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Lower Ahead Of Alcoa Results," at 5:58 a.m., EDT, misstated the expected second quarter earnings of Alcoa in the fourth paragraph. The correct version follows) By Polya Lesova Stocks on Wall Street looked set to open lower Monday following their best week in nearly a year, as investors exercised caution ahead of the kick-off of earnings season by aluminium giant Alcoa Inc. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 47 points to 10085. S&P 500 futures fell 6 points to 1066.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 8.50 points to 1803. U.S. equities gained on Friday, buoyed by optimism about the upcoming earnings season. The Dow rose 5.3% last week, posting its biggest weekly gain in nearly a year. No major economic data is scheduled for release Monday. After the stock market closes, Alcoa Inc. (AA) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 12 cents per share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. "We are all waiting for Alcoa earnings. We have all the sovereign debt issues in Europe pretty much priced in," said Christian Tegllund Blaabjerg, chief equity strategist at Saxo Bank. "There is no news out today that can spur the market, so it's all about earnings." "Earnings expectations have been revised lower for the past month and so I think we're going to get a massive surprise to the upside," Blaabjerg said. He expects particularly strong results from financial-sector firms, such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), which reports on Thursday. Transportation company CSX Corp. (CSX) and chip-equipment maker Novellus Systems Inc. (NVLS) will also report quarterly results late Monday. Oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX) will issue an interim second-quarter update. In London trading, shares of BP PLC (BP) rallied 7% following media speculation that the whole firm or some of its assets may be sold off. The Wall Street Journal reported that BP was in talks to sell assets to Houston-based Apache Corp. (APA) in a deal that could be worth as much as $10 billion. The Sunday Times said Exxon Mobil (XOM) and another U.S. oil firm have asked the U.S. government whether they could bid for BP. Meanwhile, BP said Monday that the cost of the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has climbed to $3.5 billion. "BP has enough money in its operating cash flow to pay for all the unfortunate things that are going on in the U.S. There is no reason for BP to go into panic mode and start selling assets," Blaabjerg said. "Just look at the company: it's rock solid, it's making a lot of money," he said. "I think BP is still a solid buy." In the financial sector, Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB-A.SK) said it was selling its German retail banking business to Spain's Banco Santander SA (STD) for EUR555 million ($699 million). Most Asian stock markets finished with gains, but Japanese equities dropped after the nation's ruling coalition lost more seats than expected in Sunday's upper-house elections. Tokyo's Nikkei Stock Average ended down 0.4%. In Europe, stocks posted modest losses, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index trading down 0.2%. The dollar rose against all of its major rivals; the dollar index gained 0.5% to 84.405. The euro fell 0.6% to $1.2565 and sterling dropped 0.7% to $1.4952. In the commodities markets, August crude-oil futures declined 72 cents to $75.38 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures also dropped, down $5.20 to $1,204.60 an ounce. -By Polya Lesova; 49 69 29725517; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 12, 2010 07:56 ET (11:56 GMT)