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Empresas y finanzas

Wall Street futures signal higher open


    (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.1-0.4 percent.

    ICSC/Goldman Sachs release at 1245 GMT chain store sales for the week ended January 29 versus the prior week. In the previous week, sales were down 1.2 percent.

    Major companies announcing results include Pfizer, United Parcel Service, McGraw-Hill and Cummins.

    Institute for Supply Management releases its January manufacturing index at 1500 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 58.0 versus 58.5 in December.

    The world economy has begun improving but is beset by problems such as high unemployment and rising prices which could fuel crippling trade protectionism or even lead to war within nations, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.

    Input prices jumped in Chinese and Indian factories in January, adding to pressure from food inflation that the fast-growing economies are already struggling to contain, business surveys showed on Tuesday.

    Redbook releases at 1355 GMT its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for January versus December. In the prior period, sales fell 0.7 percent.

    At 1500 GMT, the Commerce Department releases December construction spending. Economists expect construction spending to be unchanged compared with a 0.4 percent rise the prior month.

    U.S. automakers report January sales, which are expected to show an increase from the previous January but a slight slip from December. Sales are seen showing continued gradual recovery of the auto industry after the recession and the worst sales performance in nearly three decades.

    At 2200 GMT, ABC News releases its consumer comfort index for the week ended January 30 versus the prior week. In the previous week, the index read -44.

    Rent A Center Inc shares rose 4 percent, while Baidu Inc gained 4.9 percent after bell on Monday following their results. However, Hologic Inc fell 4.6 percent after the bell.

    On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 68.23 points, or 0.58 percent, to 11,891.93. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 9.78 points, or 0.77 percent, to 1,286.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 13.19 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,700.08.

    Japan's Nikkei closed 0.4 percent higher on Tuesday, while European shares rose 0.5 percent in early trade on Tuesday, with sentiment bolstered by a bright outlook for the economy and corporate profits, with strong earnings from Infineon and ARM lifting technology firms. (Reporting by Atul Prakash and Erica Billingham)