Nucor earnings beat by $0.08, revenue fell short of estimates
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* Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 up 0.29%, Nasdaq up 0.92%
By Devik Jain
Jan 25 (Reuters) - Nasdaq futures jumped on Monday as
markets geared up for a busy week of earnings from mega-cap
technology companies, against the backdrop of rising hopes for a
fiscal package from the Biden administration.
The so-called "stay-at-home" winners including Microsoft
Corp MSFT.O , Facebook Inc FB.O and Apple Inc AAPL.O rose
between 1.4% and 2.2% in premarket trading, as investors were
optimistic of their earnings reports following upbeat results
from Netflix Inc NFLX.O last week.
Microsoft, scheduled to report results on Tuesday, rose 1.5%
as Wedbush raised its price target on the software maker's stock
on expectations of further growth in its cloud business for
2021. Officials in President Joe Biden's administration tried to
head off Republican concerns that his $1.9 trillion pandemic
relief proposal was too expensive, even as lawmakers from both
parties agreed that getting the COVID-19 vaccine to Americans
should be a priority. "Expectations of substantial fiscal aid are keeping the
bulls in charge," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at
FXTM.
"Some investors remain concerned about the surge in COVID-19
mutations, but it's fiscal and monetary policies along with
earnings that will determine the next move in equities."
Wall Street's main indexes touched record highs last week on
hopes of a full economic reopening, backed by efficient
distribution of vaccines across the country, that is suffering
more than 175,000 new cases a day with millions out of work.
The Dow and the S&P 500 ended modestly lower on Friday,
dragged down by losses in blue-chip technology stalwarts Intel
Corp INTC.O and IBM IBM.N following their quarterly results,
and as investors sold off economy-linked energy and bank shares
after a recent rally.
With pricey stock market valuations, investors are keeping
an eye out for corporate forecasts to justify it, given the
expectation of an economic rebound this year. Earnings are
expected to rise 23.7% this year after falling 14.1% in 2020,
according to Refinitiv.
At 6:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 13 points,
or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 11 points, or 0.29%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 123 points, or 0.92%.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O added 1.5% after RBC
raised its price target on the chipmaker's stock on expectations
of upbeat fourth-quarter earnings, helped by upside from PC
demand, GPU demand and improving server trends. Merck & Co Inc MRK.N fell 1.2% after the drugmaker said it
will end development of its two COVID-19 vaccines and focus
pandemic research on treatments, with initial efficacy data on
an experimental oral antiviral expected by the end of March.