Stock futures rise, point to higher opening

[April 20, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures rose Tuesday as investors look to build on a late-day rally after another round of upbeat earnings reports.

Overseas markets mostly rose following U.S. gains on Monday.

Investors have set aside, at least temporarily, concerns about a potential overhaul of financial regulation and civil fraud charges levied against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Instead, traders are focusing on another batch of strong earnings reports from across a wide range of sectors.

Swiss drug maker Novartis AG easily topped first-quarter profit forecasts thanks to strong sales of its swine flu vaccine.

IBM Corp. also beat expectations as corporate technology spending rebounds from the recession. IBM's results were the latest from the technology sector to show the industry is recovering and no longer has to rely on cost-cutting to improve profitability like it did for much of last year.

Goldman Sachs will report earnings Tuesday, providing insight into the continued recovery on Wall Street. A recovery in stocks and other investments has preceded a broader rebound in the economy.

The big bank is also expected to discuss on its earnings conference call civil fraud charges it is faces tied to managing subprime mortgage securities.

Coca-Cola Co., Apple Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are all also scheduled to report quarterly results throughout the day.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 35, or 0.3 percent, to 11,079. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.50, or 0.5 percent, to 1,201.10, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 8.00, or 0.4 percent, to 2,021.00.

Strong earnings have buoyed stocks over the past week, helping major indexes move higher. Citigroup Inc.'s better-than-expected results helped stocks bounce back from a disappointing close to last week.

Citi was one of the hardest hit banks by the credit crisis, so its recovery bodes well for a broader economic recovery.

The Dow rose 73 points for the day Monday after being lower throughout much of the day. The index jumped 100 points during the last two hours of trading.

Stocks opened Monday lower as concerns remained about the Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges against Goldman Sachs. The charges, announced Friday, came as Congress discusses financial regulatory reform.

Meanwhile, bond prices fell Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.82 percent from 3.80 percent late Monday.

The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold and oil rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.1 percent.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN BERNARD]

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