Dow Set to Open at All-Time High as Pfizer Beats and Wall Street Awaits Apple
New York (Aug 1) Stock futures pointed to a higher open on the first day of August as earnings came in positive and Wall Street waited for Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) earnings report.
S&P 500 futures increased 0.14%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.41%, and Nasdaq futures added 0.23%.
Stocks in the U.S. on Monday, July 31, finished mixed but the Dow ended the session with a closing high and its best monthly gain since February. The Dow rose 0.28%, hitting a record close of 21,891. The blue-chip index rose 2.3% for July, its fourth month with gains and its largest increase since a 4.8% rise in February. It was the Dow's fourth session of records in a row.
Apple will report its recent quarterly performance after the bell Tuesday. The world's largest company is expected to post earnings of $1.57 a share during its quarter that ended in June, a 10% increase from a year earlier. Sales are forecast to have climbed nearly 6% to $44.9 billion.
Investors will be paying close attention to iPhone sales, which dropped to 50.8 million in the second quarter from 51.2 million in the previous quarter. Apple's latest iPhone models, the 7 and 7 Plus, came out in September 2016.
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•Apple Is Getting a Whopping Amount of Its Revenue from Steve Jobs' iPhone
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) rose 0.7% in premarket trading after beating analysts' estimates on its bottom-line. Adjusted profit of 67 cents a share came in 2 cents higher than expected. However, revenue of $12.9 billion missed forecasts of $13.07 billion. The drugmaker lifted its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $2.54 to $2.60 a share, up from its previous range of $2.50 to $2.60.
Xerox Corp. (XRX) also reported a mixed quarter. The copier company earned an adjusted 87 cents a share, 7 cents above expectations. Revenue of $2.57 billion fell short of $2.62 billion consensus. Its full-year adjusted earnings guidance of $3.20 to $3.44 a share was in line with $3.32 consensus.
Under Armour Inc. (UA) slumped before the bell after cutting its full-year forecasts. The retailer anticipates full-year sales growth of 9% to 11%, down from its previous targets of 11% to 12%. Adjusted earnings guidance of 37 cents to 40 cents a share came in lower than a target of 42 cents. Under Armour also announced a restructuring plan, involving job cuts, that is expected to rack up charges of $110 million to $130 million.
BP PLC (BP) posted second-quarter earnings largely in-line with forecasts and maintained its dividend as the company swung to a profit thanks to gradually rising global oil prices. BP said profit for the three months ended in June was $144 million, a massive swing from the $1.42 billion loss recorded during the same period last year. Underlying replacement cost profit slipped 5% to $684 million, but still topped a company-provided estimate of $500 million.
•BP Sees Oil Prices as Low as $45 a Barrel This Year
Earnings were 4 cents a share, matching a consensus of analysts polled by FactSet, compared with a year-earlier loss of 46 cents. Revenue rose 21% $56.511 billion and topped estimates. American depositary receipts of BP were trading up 3.3% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Other earnings of note Tuesday include Steven Madden Ltd. (SHOO) , Sprint Corp. (S) , Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) , Phillips 66 (PSX) , Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (LL) and HCP Inc. (HCP) .
On the economic calendar Tuesday, motor vehicle sales for July will be released through the morning, personal income and outlays for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, the PMI manufacturing index for July at 9:45 a.m. ET, the ISM manufacturing index July at 9:45, and construction spending for June at 10 a.m.
Source: The Street
