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Futures higher after two-day decline, Alcoa results

    ALCOA
    10,4000+1,96%
    By Chuck Mikolajczak

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures climbed on Tuesday after the S&P 500 <.SPX> fell for a second consecutive session, as financial results from ALCOA (AA.NY)helped ease some investor skittishness about the corporate earnings season.

    * Alcoa Inc gained 1.1 percent to $16.35 before the opening bell. The company reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit due to a boost from automotive demand, higher aluminum prices and lower energy costs.

    * Another sharp decline in energy shares as oil prices tumbled about 5 percent and growing concern over corporate profits sent equities lower for a second straight day. The benchmark S&P index has fallen in seven of the past nine sessions and is down 3 percent from its most recent record high on Dec. 29.

    * Financials including JPMorgan Chase & Co , Wells Fargo & Co , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc are among the companies also due to report this week, along with Dow component Intel Corp .

    * Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to show growth of 3.8 percent over the year-earlier period, according to Thomson Reuters data.

    * Shares of energy companies are likely to be under pressure again as oil prices continued to stumble. Brent and U.S. crude touched their lowest levels in almost six years as a big OPEC producer stood by the group's decision not to cut output to tackle a glut in the market.

    * Brent was last down 3.5 percent at $45.75, while U.S. crude was off 3 percent at $44.67. Transocean shares were down 1.2 percent at $15.33 in premarket trading.

    * CTIC Biopharma Corp shares jumped 9.6 percent to $2.52 before the opening bell after the company forecast 2015 revenue between $55 million and $72 million, well above the Wall Street estimate. The stock was the most active on the Nasdaq in premarket trading, with volume of nearly 370,000 shares, about one-third of its 10-day average volume.

    Futures snapshot at 8:08 a.m.:

    * S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.42 percent, with 171,777 contracts changing hands.

    * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 20.5 points, or 0.49 percent, in volume of 27,600 contracts.

    * Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 81 points, or 0.46 percent, with 26,550 contracts changing hands.

    (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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