Stock futures higher after Apple profit, outlook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday, lifted by solid earnings and a strong outlook from technology giant APPLE (AAPL.NQ)Inc .

Apple rose 3.4 percent to $260.51 in premarket trade after an unusually upbeat revenue forecast calmed concerns that iPhone 4 antenna problems would dampen sales.

Apple was a bright spot after a string of disappointing revenue results, including ones from International Business Machines Corp and chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc.

Investors are closely watching top-line numbers for signs of growth in the economy as recent data has signaled a slowdown.

"Apple broke the streak of companies who beat on earnings but missed on revenues, and maybe you can gauge some optimism from investors that maybe there is nothing structurally wrong with the economy that wouldn't allow companies to grow if the products are right," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.

"Apple offered some hope that it is not an all-or-nothing situation, that growth is possible."

S&P 500 futures gained 2.2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 12 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 10.75 points.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer United Technologies Corp reported a 13.7 percent rise in profit and raised its full-year forecast, saying demand and margins improved.

Dow component Coca-Cola Co gained 1 percent to $53.75 premarket after the soft-drink maker posted second-quarter earnings.

As earnings pour in, investors will monitor results from financial bellwethers Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co as well as online auctioneer eBay Inc .

BP Plc denied a report its heavily criticized chief executive would soon leave as the company lined up $7 billion in asset sales to Apache Corp to help cover the cost of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Separately, Apache said it will sell 21 million shares of common stock.

BP's U.S.-traded shares gained 4 percent to $36.62.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in testimony before Congress at 2 p.m. EDT, may provide a fresh outlook on the health of the world's biggest economy as well as policy signals from the central bank.

European stocks climbed for the first time in a week on Wednesday in a broad rally, with investors scooping up battered banking shares on hopes the sector's stress test results will be reassuring.

Asian stocks rose on Apple's strong earnings and optimism that China may roll back policy-tightening measures later this year, while the euro firmed ahead of the euro zone bank stress test results late in the week.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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