Stock futures tick up, S&P on track to extend record

[May 28, 2014]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged up on Wednesday, with technicals in focus and scant key items on the U.S. economic calendar, following yet another record close on the benchmark S&P 500 index.

Investors' appetite for equities continued on the back of strong U.S. economic data and expectations of monetary easing by the European Central Bank, while the euro was seen weakening further from a 2-1/2 year high hit earlier this month and the U.S. 10-year yield hovered near its lowest since October.

The S&P 500 was poised for a fifth straight day of gains, which would be its second-longest run this year. The index closed at 1,911.91, near the 1,910 area seen as technical resistance. Support kicks in at 1,900 and then at the 14-day moving average, now near 1,887.

Upbeat earnings from Toll Brothers could push homebuilders higher while retailers Michael Kors and DSW told diverging stories about consumer spending.
 

S&P 500 e-mini futures <ESc1> rose 3 points and fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract, indicating a higher open. Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures <YMc1> rose 25 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures <NQc1> added 5 points.

Toll Brothers <TOL.N> shares added 3.3 percent in premarket trading after the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder said quarterly profit more than doubled as it sold more homes at higher prices.

Michael Kors Holdings <KORS.N> reported a 59 percent jump in quarterly profit as sales of its handbags and watches surged in North America. Shares were up 3 percent in trading before the bell.

Footwear retailer DSW <DSW.N> tumbled 15 percent in premarket trading after reporting a drop in sales.

Workday Inc's <WDAY.N> shares rose 5.7 percent in premarket trading a day after posting first-quarter revenue that jumped 74 percent on strong subscription growth for its web-based human resources software.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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