U.S. Index Futures Rise as S&P 500 Heads for Weekly Gain
U.S. stock-index futures advanced, indicating that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rise for a second day as it heads for its biggest weekly jump in a month.
Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. surged 37 percent in early New York trading after saying it remains in talks about a potential debt restructuring. Yelp Inc. rose 2.6 percent after partnering with advertising platform YP. Symantec Corp. slumped 10 percent after firing its chief executive officer. Tiffany & Co. (TIF) lost 2.7 percent after reporting earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and forecasting profit below projections.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June added 0.2 percent to 1,870.3 at 8 a.m. in New York. The gauge has climbed 1.7 percent this week and closed 0.3 percent away from its record high reached March 7. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts gained 30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,295 today.
“Sentiment is positive and the general expectation is that U.S. economic growth is OK,” Henrik Drusebjerg, who helps oversee $220 billion as a senior strategist at Nordea Bank AB in Copenhagen, said in a phone interview. “The level of growth is still the main thing that investors are concerned about.”
The S&P 500 (SPX)rose 0.6 percent yesterday as reports on leading indicators and regional manufacturing fueled optimism in the economy, overshadowing concern that benchmark interest rates may rise in the middle of next year. The index lost 0.6 percent the previous day after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and the rates could rise about six months later. The Fed had previously said it would not raise them for a considerable period, without specifying a time frame.
Genco Shipping
Genco Shipping jumped 37 percent to $1.70. The company, which has made an interest payment of $3.1 million, is still in talks with lenders and note holders regarding a potential debt restructuring.
Yelp rose 2.6 percent to $86.50. The agreement with YP will improve business listings on Yelp, whose website compiles consumer-business reviews, and will help it access more local businesses though YP’s ad network.
LIN Media LLC jumped 29 percent after an announcement that it is merging with Media General Inc.
Symantec dropped 10 percent to $18.75. The biggest maker of security software for personal computers fired President and CEO Steve Bennett after less than two years on the job as the company struggles with a shift to mobile devices.
Tiffany fell 2.7 percent to 88.75. The world’s second-largest luxury jewelry retailer said profit excluding costs to pay an arbitration award to Swatch Group AG in the quarter ended Jan. 31 was $1.47 a share, missing the average estimate for $1.52. Capital expenditures are projected to rise this year to $270 million as the company invests in information-technology systems.
Nike Inc. slid 2.4 percent to $77.33. The world’s largest sporting-goods company said sales in the quarter through May will gain at a high single-digit percentage rate. That’s less than the average analyst estimate calling for a 12 percent gain.
(By Jonathan Morgan)
Source: bloomberg
