(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures climbed higher on Monday after European banking giants HSBC and Barclays reported positive results.
At 8:16 am ET, the S&P 500 rose 9.60 points to 994. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 80 points to 9206. The Nasdaq Composite gained 19 points to 1621.
Early on Monday, Humana (NYSE:
) said that its second-quarter net income rose to $281.8 million, or $1.67 a share, from $209.9 million, or $1.24 a share, a year ago. Revenue increased 7.5% to $7.9 billion.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:
) said that its third-quarter net income climbed to $134 million, or 35 cents a share, from $9 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue declined to $6.66 billion from $6.85 billion.
Clorox (NYSE:
) reported that fiscal fourth-quarter net earnings rose 8% to $170 million, or $1.20 diluted earnings per share, from $158 million, or $1.13 diluted EPS, in the prior year quarter. Sales remained flat from year-earlier period.
Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings (NYSE:
) said Monday that its first-half net profit dropped 57% to $3.35 billion from $7.72 billion. The group said that excluding charges linked to the changing value of its own debt, pretax profit was broadly flat at $7.5 billion.
Barclays PLC (NYSE:
) reported that its first-half profit rose 10% to GBP1.89 billion, up from GBP1.72 billion in the same period last year. T
The Semiconductor Industry Association said Monday that worldwide sales of semiconductors for the second quarter of 2009 were $51.7 billion, down 20% compared to the same period a year ago but up17% from the first quarter.
On the economic front, ISM index, construction spending and auto sales data are due for release later in the day. A Ford executive on Sunday said that the automaker (NYSE:
) is expected to report a gain in monthly sales.
US stocks finished mostly higher on Friday as better than expected GDP data reinforced expectations of economic recovery.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 13:00 pm London time, the UK FTSE rose 72.26 points or 1.57% to 4,680.62. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.68% and 1.58% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 4.36 points or 0.04% to 10,352.47. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong gained 233.93 points or 1.14% to 20,807.26.
NYMEX crude oil for September delivery climbed as much as $1.68 or 2.4% to $71.13 in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
