US Stock Futures Slip as IBM Tumbles

New York (Oct 20)  Stock futures fell Tuesday as disappointing earnings from IBM (IBM - Get Report) and Harley-Davidson (HOG - Get Report) drove markets lower.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.28%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.25%, and Nasdaq futures declined 0.22%.

IBM shares fell 4% in premarket trading after the company reported a sharp decline in quarterly sales and reduced its full-year profit guidance. The tech giant reported a 14% drop in sales in its third quarter, missing analysts' estimates. IBM said it expects full-year net income of $14.75 to $15.75 a share, down from previous guidance of $15.75 to $16.50.

Harley-Davidson fell more than 6% before the bell after a disappointing quarter and reduced full-year forecasts. The motorcycle manufacturer expects to ship 265,000 to 270,000 units for the full year, down from at least 276,000, as it faces an increasingly competitive environment. Third-quarter net income of 69 cents a share was flat from a year earlier and missed estimates by 9 cents.

SanDisk (SNDK - Get Report) jumped more than 7% on reports it is in advanced talks to sell itself to Western Digital (WDC - Get Report) . A deal could be announced as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg. Previous reports noted that SanDisk had been in deal talks with both Western Digital and Micron Technology.

Sonic Restaurants (SONC - Get Report) added nearly 5% after same-store sales in its fourth quarter increased 7.3%, a significant increase in growth from a 6.1% increase last quarter. Quarterly profit of 43 cents a share beat estimates by a penny.

Yum! Brands (YUM) jumped 5% after it said Tuesday it would separate its Chinese and U.S. businesses after several quarters of declining sales overseas. Chinese revenue has taken a big hit after news broke last year that KFC's suppliers in the country had been mixing fresh and expired meat.

Travelers  (TRV) shares were on watch after a better-than-expected third quarter. Net income of $2.97 a share beat estimates by 70 cents, while revenue jumped 2.7% to $6.19 billion.

Source: TheStreet