Futures bounce as tech results shine

[April 26, 2018]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a strong open for the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Thursday as a slew of upbeat earnings from Facebook and Qualcomm helped set aside worries over rising U.S. bond yields and corporate costs.

The Nasdaq Composite index <.IXIC> was set to open 60 points higher and break its five-day losing streak, its longest since November 2016.

Facebook jumped 6.84 percent in premarket trading after the social networking company reported a 63 percent surge in first-quarter profit and a rise in users, with no sign that business was hurt by a scandal over the mishandling of personal data, which unfolded in mid-March.

Shares of other internet stocks Twitter <TWTR.N> and Snap <SNAP.N>, which came under the shadow of the Facebook scandal, were also higher.

Advanced Micro Devices <AMD.O> and Qualcomm <QCOM.O> were up 8.9 percent and about 1 percent after both the chipmakers posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street estimates, easing concerns about weak demand for smartphones after some Asian peers warned of slower growth.

Despite strong results from most U.S. firms that have reported so far, investors have been reacting to signs that rising inflation could take a toll on corporate profits.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield <US10YT=RR>, the benchmark of global borrowing costs, crossed the 3 percent level on Tuesday for the first time in four years. [US/]

Increasing federal borrowing, together with inflation concerns due to rising commodity prices and bets on further rate increases from the Federal Reserve, sparked a sell-off in bonds.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

At 7:11 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 40 points, or 0.17 percent. S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 6.25 points, or 0.24 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 41 points, or 0.63 percent.

Of the 154 S&P 500 companies that reported first-quarter earnings as of Wednesday, 81.2 percent topped profit estimates. Analysts now expect earnings growth of 22 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Shares of the No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford <F.N> jumped 1.5 percent after it outlined a plan to cut costs and boost profit margins at a faster pace than previously announced.

General Motors <GM.N> fell about 2 percent after the company reported a lower quarterly profit as it began the changeover to a redesigned family of high-margin pickup trucks that resulted in lower production.

Some of the companies reporting after the market close include Amazon <AMZN.O>, Microsoft <MSFT.O> and Intel <INTC.O>.

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

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.