U.S. Stock Futures Little Changed Amid Earnings Reports

By Namitha Jagadeesh 

U.S. stock futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced to a record, as investors weighed corporate earnings and awaited reports on consumer confidenceand real estate prices.

Pfizer Inc. declined 3.3 percent as the world’s biggest drugmaker reported first-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ projections. Newmont Mining (NEM) Corp. lost 2.7 percent as the biggest U.S. gold producer reported first-quarter profit that missed estimates. Express ScriptsHolding Co. gained 1.4 percent after raising its 2013 earnings forecast.

S&P 500 futures expiring in June dropped 0.1 percent to 1,586.30 at 8:17 a.m. in New York. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,739.

“Cautious is the keyword for U.S. stocks, especially after this beautiful rally we’ve seen,” said Jacques Porta, who helps manage about $776 million at Ofi Gestion Privee in Paris. “The economic data we’ve seen recently has not been consistently good enough to buy and not weak enough to sell.”

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7 percent to a record high of 1,593.61 yesterday and is heading for a sixth monthly advance, the longest streak of gains since September 2009. The bull market in U.S. equities entered its fifth year last month. The equity gauge has surged 136 percent from a 12-year low in 2009, driven by better-than-estimated corporate earnings and three rounds of bond purchases by the Federal Reserve.

Consumer Sentiment

A report at 10 a.m. in New York may show confidence among U.S. consumers advanced in April. The Conference Board’s index rose to 61 from 59.7 a month earlier, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Another release at 9 a.m. may show residential real estate prices increased in February. TheS&P/Case-Schiller index of property values in 20 cities advanced 9 percent from the same month in 2012, economists forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The gauge rose 8.1 percent in January.

Invesco Ltd., Franklin Resources Inc. and 36 other S&P 500 (SPX) companies report quarterly earnings today. Of the 298 that have reported so far, 73 percent have exceeded analysts’ predictions, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Profit at S&P 500 companies rose 1.1 percent in the first three months of the year, according to analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg.

Fed Meeting

The Fed may consider maintaining its bond-buying program at a two-day meeting starting today, after a report last week showed the world’s largest economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter.

The central bank will probably continue its “aggressive” easing program this year, Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

The European Central Bank will cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent on May 2, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Pfizer (PFE) retreated 3.3 percent to $29.43 as it posted first- quarter earnings excluding some items of 54 cents a share, missing the 55 cent-average projection of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Full-year earnings excluding one-time items may be $2.14 to $2.24 a share, New York-based Pfizer said in a statement. The company’s gave a previous 2013 forecast of $2.20 to $2.30 in January.

Newmont Drops

Newmont Mining declined 2.7 percent to $33.05 after saying late yesterday that first-quarter net income fell to $315 million, or 63 cents a share, from $490 million, or 97 cents, a year earlier. Earnings excluding one-time items were 71 cents a share, trailing the 76 cent-average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Masco Corp. (MAS) slid 4.5 percent to $19.50 as the insulation maker posted first-quarter earnings excluding one-time items of 13 cents a share, missing the 14 cents forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Legg Mason Inc. slumped 6.4 percent to $29.38. The Baltimore-based money manager that appointed a new chief executive officer in February said fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 62 percent as client withdrawals from its stock and bond funds continued.

Express Scripts (ESRX) advanced 1.4 percent to $59.25 after saying it sees 2013 earnings excluding one-time items in the range of $4.23 to $4.33 a share, higher than its previous forecast of $4.20 to $4.30 a share. The largest U.S. processor of drug prescriptions reported first-quarter sales of $26.06 billion, exceeding the average analyst estimate of $25.5 billion in a Bloomberg survey.

McGraw-Hill Cos. rose 1.4 percent to $54.20. The owner of Standard & Poor’s, the world’s largest credit rater, reported first-quarter sales that beat analysts’ estimates on higher ratings revenue.

To contact the reporter on this story: Namitha Jagadeesh in London atnjagadeesh@bloomberg.net

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