Stock futures point to slight gains ahead of Bernanke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to gains at the open on Tuesday after strong earnings from Goldman Sachs and as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who may offer clues into steps the central bank could take to stimulate the economy.

Many analysts said, however, it was unlikely Bernanke would announce anything substantial to boost growth. In addition, while some major companies reported better-than-expected profits, share gains didn't translate to the broader market.

Goldman Sachs rose 2 percent to $99.59 before the bell after reporting earnings that beat expectations, the latest financial company to rally on results. Coca-Cola Co , which also topped consensus forecasts, gained 1.5 percent to $76.97.

Bernanke is testifying before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee at 10:00 a.m., and while recent indications have suggested the Fed won't announce another round of quantitative easing unless economic conditions deteriorate further, the comments will still be closely monitored.

"Bernanke will say that the Fed remains vigilant but I don't think we'll rally unless he gives any signal that quantitative easing is imminent, which I think is unlikely," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. "Investors hoping for QE, or a time frame for QE, will be disappointed."

The market is coming off a period of weakness, with Monday's retail sales data the latest sign of slowing growth. Markets are down seven of the past eight sessions.

Johnson & Johnson reported adjusted profit that beat expectations by a penny, but posted lower-than-expected sales and cut its full-year profit forecast, sending its shares down 1.2 percent to $67.65.

With 6 percent of S&P components having reported thus far, 65 percent have topped profit expectations, according to the latest Thomson Reuters data.

S&P 500 futures rose 5.7 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 47 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 12.75 points.

The Nasdaq was lifted by Yahoo Inc , which rose 1.4 percent to $15.87 in premarket trading after it naming Marissa Mayer, a now-former top executive at Google Inc , as its new chief executive. The company has cycled through three CEOs in a year.

U.S. consumer prices were flat in June, as expected, as the cost of gasoline dropped, offering some relief for cash-strapped Americans and scope for the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy further to help the faltering recovery. Futures were little impacted by the data.

Morgan Stanley cut its 2012 U.S. auto sales projections by about 3 percent and cut its profit outlooks for the sector due to weak sales.

U.S. stocks fell in a volatile session on Monday, with the weak retail sales fueling losses.

(Editing by Dave Zimmerman)

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