| U.S. stock futures gain after Caterpillar resultsThu Jan 26, 2006 7:58 AM ET (Update prices, adds earnings on Dow Chemical) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures added to gains on Thursday, pointing to a higher market opening, as stronger-than-expected earnings from companies, including heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), improved the quarter's profit picture. Shares of Caterpillar rose nearly 4 percent before the bell to $64.50 after it said quarterly earnings rose due to "unprecedented customer demand." [ID:nWEN8784] Higher-than-expected earnings were also reported by drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) . Solid results from microchip companies, including specialty chipmaker LSI Logic Corp. (LSI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Altera Corp. (ALTR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) after Wednesday's closing bell, also boosted sentiment. Shares in Europe and Japan were higher, with Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) advancing. But news of a Hamas victory, which would shake up the Palestinian Authority and likely put peacemaking with Israel in a deep freeze, could keep investors cautious. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures <SPH6> were up 7.80 points, well above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Nasdaq 100 index futures <NDH6> were up 13.50 points, and Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJH6> were up 74 points. "Overall, you're going to see a pretty strong opening. A lot of semi numbers were pretty good last night," said Barry Ritholtz, fund manager at Ritholtz Capital Partners. "Earnings, I think, have a been a little soft. To me, it's a warning sign the economy is slowing," he said. Ritholtz said he thinks earnings are going to be less than expected. "So it means people have to be worried about what they're paying for stocks," he said. News of the Hamas victory is a worry, he said. "From an investor's standpoint, you hope that that region finds some stability," he said. General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares rose 1.5 percent to $24.20 before the bell on the Inet electronic brokerage network after billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian lifted his stake in the auto maker. On the economic front, the Commerce Department releases December durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a median rise in orders of 1.0 percent compared with a 4.4 percent rise in November. The Labor Department releases first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended Jan. 21, also at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists forecast a median total of 305,000 new filings compared with 271,000 in the prior week. Altera, the maker of programmable microchips, reported net income increased amid growing demand. [ID:nWEN8668] Its shares rose 2.8 percent to $19.45 after the bell on Wednesday. The solid microchip reports follow disappointing results last week from Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest chipmaker. <!-- Article Text Ends -->Quelle: http://today.reuters.com/investing/...2006-01-26_12-57-16_N26373500:1 Beste Grüße vom Gesellen  |
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