Futures rise as third-quarter earnings start on strong note

[October 15, 2019]  By Sagarika Jaisinghani

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday, as the third-quarter earnings season got off to an upbeat start with robust reports from JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson.

JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> gained 1.9% after beating Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit by a wide margin, underpinned by strength in bond trading, underwriting and home lending revenue.

But Goldman Sachs <.GS.N> slipped 0.9% as it reported a 27% slump in quarterly profit, hit by lower fees from advising on deals and weakness in underwriting.

Collectively, banks are expected to report a 1.2% decline in earnings, their first year-on-year drop in three, due in part to low interest rates and trade tensions.

Wells Fargo <WFC.N> and Citigroup <C.N> are also due to report on Tuesday, followed by Bank of America <BAC.N> and Morgan Stanley <MS.N> later this week.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc <UNH.N> and Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> rose 2.9% and 1.7%, respectively. The healthcare companies reported strong quarterly results and raised their full-year profit forecasts.

The earnings reports will indicate the fallout from a prolonged U.S.-China trade war on U.S. companies. The tit-for-tat tariff moves have already hit domestic manufacturing, dented business sentiment and rankled financial markets.

S&P 500 companies were set to report their weakest quarterly performance in about three years for the September quarter, with industrial companies among those most at risk from the trade dispute.

President Donald Trump announced a partial trade deal with China on Friday, but concerns linger as no agreement has been signed yet and most tariffs on Chinese imports remain in effect.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes, which gained nearly 2% last month, are off about 0.4% in October. The benchmark index is now more than 2% away from its record high after coming within striking distance in September.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 102 points, or 0.38%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 10 points, or 0.34% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 24.25 points, or 0.31%.

Other companies reporting results this week include Netflix Inc <NFLX.O>, Abbott Laboratories <ABT.N> and Union Pacific <UNP.N>.

Shares of BlackRock Inc <BLK.N>, the world's biggest asset manager, rose slightly after its quarterly profit beat analysts' estimates.

Home-furnishing retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc <BBBY.O> was up 4% after Keybanc upgraded the stock to "overweight".

Shares of mobile game developer Glu Mobile <GLUU.O> jumped 9% as it is set to replace SolarEdge Technologies <SEDG.O> in the S&P SmallCap 600.

On a sour note, U.S. advertising company Omnicom Group Inc <OMC.N> dropped 0.9% after falling short of estimates for quarterly revenue.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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