S&P, Dow futures hit record highs as investors eye tech earnings

[October 26, 2021]   By Devik Jain

(Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow futures hit record highs on Tuesday as Facebook rose after its quarterly results and a share buyback plan, turning the spotlight on its technology peers set to report later in the day.

Facebook Inc rose 2.5% in premarket trading even as the social media giant warned that Apple Inc's new privacy changes would weigh on its digital business in the current quarter. The company announced $50 billion in share buybacks, while posting a 17% rise in third-quarter profit.

Shares of Twitter Inc, which also generates revenue by selling digital ads, added 1.4% ahead of its results on Tuesday.

Eyes are also on quarterly updates from Alphabet Inc and Microsoft Corp after market close, with focus on how Google's ad revenue fares. Their shares, coupled with other growth names Amazon.com and Apple, were up between 0.1% and 1.5%.

United Parcel Service Inc gained 4.5% after the delivery firm reported a 23% rise in quarterly profit, bolstered by high e-commerce demand.

Some stellar earnings reports have helped drive the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs, lifting investor sentiment in October after concerns around inflation, the Fed's tapering and the China Evergrande crisis rattled markets last month.

Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to grow 34.8% year-on-year for the third quarter, with market participants assessing how companies are navigating supply-chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and inflationary pressures.

At 6:58 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 129 points, or 0.36%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 18.25 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 86.5 points, or 0.56%.

On the economic data front, consumer confidence data for October is due at 10 a.m. ET.

Gains in economically sensitive industrials Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc provided the biggest boost to futures tracking the blue-chip Dow.

General Electric Co rose 1.6% after the industrial conglomerate raised its full-year earnings forecast, while diversified manufacturer 3M Co slipped 0.8% as it tightened its annual profit outlook, citing disruptions in its supply chain network.

Tesla Inc slipped 0.3%, a day after the electric-carmaker surpassed $1 trillion in market value after landing its biggest-ever order from rental car company Hertz.

Chipmakers Texas Instruments and Advanced Micro Devices, brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc and payments company Visa Inc were also slated to report results later in the day.

(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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