LDN - Business

Futures rise on strong earnings from Netflix, health majors

[April 17, 2018] By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as strong earnings from Netflix, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth boosted optimism over what is expected to be the strongest earnings season in seven years.

At 6:52 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 151 points, or 0.61 percent, S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> rose 13.75 points, or 0.51 percent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> gained 34.5 points, or 0.51 percent.

Netflix <NFLX.O> shares surged 6.44 percent premarket after the video-streaming pioneer smashed analysts' quarterly subscriber estimates, helped by a blitz of original content.

The stock, the best performer on the S&P 500 <.SPX> this year, was the top gainer among S&P and Nasdaq <.IXIC> components in premarket trading.

On the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI>, which is down about 0.6 percent so far this year, health stocks led the gainers.

UnitedHealth <UNH.N> rose 1.78 percent after the largest U.S. health insurer raised its earnings forecast and posted results that beat Wall Street estimates.

J&J <JNJ.N> rose 0.94 percent after reporting a 12.6 percent rise in sales. Goldman Sachs <GS.N> shares rose 0.4 percent after the investment bank reported 27 percent surge in profit.

The results will add to optimism about first-quarter earnings growth, which is expected to be the strongest in seven years. Analysts expect S&P companies' profit rose 18.6 percent in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data.

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 16, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Investors have shifted their focus from geopolitical and trade concerns, which have roiled the markets in the recent months.

However, U.S.-China trade issues continue to simmer. China moved to slap a hefty temporary deposit on imports of U.S. sorghum in a preliminary antidumping ruling. Archer Daniel <ADM.N>, a top seller of U.S. sorghum into China, was down 0.9 percent.

The move came a day after the United States banned American companies from selling parts and software to China's ZTE Corp <0763.HK> for seven years.

A U.S.-led attack on Syria over the weekend has so far not prompted any military retaliation from Russia, easing fears over the conflict escalating.

Tesla <TSLA.O> shares fell 0.84 percent after the electric car maker temporarily suspended its Model 3 assembly line, in what it said was a planned production pause.

Data on U.S. homebuilding and industrial production are expected ahead of the opening bell.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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