Stock futures edge up a day after Dow snaps winning streak

[July 22, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Friday, a day after the Dow industrials snapped a nine-session streak of gains and as investors assessed earnings reports from a host of industrial companies including GE.

The S&P 500 and Dow are trading at record highs on upbeat sentiment over second-quarter corporate earnings, with analysts now expecting smaller profit declines and more companies topping those estimates.

However reports from Intel <INTC.O> and transport companies sapped some of the momentum on Thursday, while reports overnight and on Friday were also tepid.

GE shares initially rose 1.3 percent in premarket trading after the Dow components' earnings beat estimates, before reversing course to trade down nearly 2 percent.

Honeywell dropped 1 percent after lowering its full-year sales forecast, despite a market-beating quarterly profit.

Starbucks  declined 2.4 percent to $56.22 after its sales growth fell short of expectations in all major markets.

One of the bright spots was chipmaker AMD, which rose nearly 10 percent after its results beat estimates.

Overall, analysts now expect earnings of S&P 500 companies to decline 3.3 percent in the quarter, less than the 5 percent drop estimated at the start of the earnings season.

Of the 103 S&P 500 companies that have reported as of Thursday, 67 percent have beaten estimates, slightly higher than the 63 percent over the whole of a typical quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

No major data is scheduled to be released on Friday. The U.S. Federal Reserve meets next week and policymakers are expected to decide when they will next raise interest rates.

Futures snapshot at 7:06 a.m. ET:

Dow e-minis were up 31 points, or 0.17 percent, with 19,444 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis  were up 4.25 points, or 0.2 percent, with 127,730 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 7.25 points, or 0.16 percent, on volume of 15,940 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)

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