(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures pointed to a solid start on Wednesday after
Intel Corp. reported results that exceeded Wall Street estimates.
At 8:20 am ET,
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures rose 11.10 points to 912.50.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 81 points to 8385.
Nasdaq Composite Index futures increased 26.50 points to 1473.25.
A release by
Department of Labor on Wednesday showed consumer price index increased 0.7% in June. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% in the month. Economists had forecast an increase of 0.6% in consumer price index and a rise of 0.1% in core consumer price index.
Early on Wednesday,
Abbott (NYSE:
) announced that second-quarter earnings totaled $1.4 billion, or 83 cents a share, compared to $1.3 billion, or 85 cents a share, in the same quarter, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were 89 cents versus 84 cents. Revenue rose 2.5% to $7.5 billion compared to $7.3 billion a year ago.
W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE:
) said that second-quarter earnings plunged 18% to $92 million, or $1.21 a share, from $113 million, or $1.42 a share in the prior year period. Revenue declined 13% to $1.5 billion.
Late on Tuesday,
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:
) reported a second-quarter loss of $398 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.6 billion, or 28 cents a share for the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell to $8 billion from $9.5 billion for the same quarter last year. Adjusted income, which excludes the impact of a fine imposed by European Commission, was 18 cents a share.
Yum Brands (NYSE:
) announced that it earned $303 million, or 63 cents a share, up from $224 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 50 cents a share. Revenue slipped 7% to $2.48 billion.
On the economic data front, industrial production and capacity utilization data are due for release at 09:15 am ET.Investors are also likely to focus at the latest FOMC meeting minutes due at 2 pm ET.
US stocks finished higher on Tuesday after a government release showed US retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in June.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 13:20 pm London time, the UK FTSE climbed 73.08 points or 1.72% to 4,310.76. The German DAX and French CAC increased 2.01% and 1.88% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 7.44 points or 0.08% to 9,269.25. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong surged 631.10 points or 3.66% to end at 17,885.73.
NYMEX crude oil for August delivery oil climbed as much as $1.17, or 2 percent, to $60.69 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
