Wall Street to open higher on merger activity, earnings
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, on a fresh round of merger news, as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings.
Merger and acquisition activity continued to thrive on Wall Street. Time Warner shares jumped 15.3 percent to $81.86 before the bell as Twenty-First Century Fox confirmed it made an $80 billion takeover offer for the company that was turned down. ]
A partnership struck between IBM and Apple Inc will serve to boost indexes. A deal was struck between the tech giants, in which IBM will exclusively sell iPhones and iPads loaded with applications geared at enterprise clients this fall. IBM shares gained 1.8 percent to $191.85 and Apple advanced 2.1 percent to $97.35 in premarket.
Also supporting gains was chipmaker Intel , which rose 5.1 percent to $33.32 in premarket following second-quarter results that topped analysts' estimates. The company also forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street's expectations.
Bank of America shed 0.6 percent to $15.67 in premarket after the second-largest U.S. bank by assets reported a 43 percent drop in second-quarter profit as mortgage revenue fell and litigation costs increased.
Yahoo shares also declined in premarket, down 2.3 percent to $34.79 after its disappointing second-quarter results and outlook, although the company pledged to pay its shareholders at least half the proceeds from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's mega-IPO this fall.
In other merger news, Italy's GTECH will buy U.S. slot machine maker International Game Technology for $6.4 billion including debt. IGT shares jumped 9.5 percent to $16.97 before the opening bell.
S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 9 points and fair value - a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract - indicated a higher open. Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures <1YMc1> rose 65 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures added 26.5 points.
Producer prices rose 0.4 percent in June against expectations calling for a 0.2 percent increase, with gains across most categories, indicating some inflation at the factory gate.
Other data due on Wednesday includes June industrial production at 9:15 a.m. and the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index for July at 10:00 a.m.
After the closing bell, results are due from S&P 500 companies including eBay and SanDisk .
S&P 500 companies' profits are expected to grow 5.2 percent in the second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data, down from the 8.4 percent growth forecast at the start of April. Revenue is seen up 3.2 percent.
