The front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in New York, USA, on February 16, 2021. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid
U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday, as investors this week flipped through the results of Netflix and other technology-related companies to maintain a positive start to the earnings season.
Netflix streaming service provider (NFLX.O) that thrived during last year’s blockchains will be the first of the FAANG group to report quarterly numbers. Its shares fell about 0.5% in pre-market trading, ahead of their results after the markets closed.
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM.N) rose 2.6% as it recorded its highest quarterly sales growth in more than two years, driven by its bets in the high-margin cloud computing business .
Chip maker Intel Corp. (INTC.O) will have to report the results on Thursday.
“Optimism is running very high and the earnings outlook has probably come at a perfect price at these levels, so anything less than absolutely stellar results can be considered a negative surprise,” said Marios Hadjikyriacos. XM online broker investment analyst in Cyprus.
Following the top gains of major U.S. banks last week, analysts expect first-quarter earnings for global S&P 500 companies to increase 30.9% year-over-year, according to Refinitiv IBES data .
A decline in bond yields with a longer date from 14-month highs has eased concerns about higher borrowing costs, and revived demand for high-growth technology stocks.
A series of strong economic data and expectations of a sharp rise in corporate profits helped the S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs last week.
At 06:51 am ET, the Dow E-minis were down 159 points, or 0.47%, the S&P 500 E-minis were down 20.75 points, or 0.49%. Nasdaq’s 100 E-minis fell 64.75 points, or 0.47%
Tobacco companies, including companies Altria Group (MO.N) and Philip Morris (PM.N), fell to 2.2% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration is studying a rule that would limit nicotine or would ban menthol in cigarettes.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), whose COVID-19 vaccine was paused last week to review reports of rare blood clots, tightened this year’s benefit forecast. Its shares fell 0.2%.
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