US STOCKS-Futures gain on Obama tax comments, Boeing weighs

                                

                                
 * Obama calls for lower corporate tax rate in speech
                                
 * Boeing shares fall after results
                                
 * Fed seen touting improved outlook
                                
 * Futures up: Dow 31 pts, S&P 5.1 pts, Nasdaq 7.5 pts
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Adds quote, United Tech results)
                                
 By Ryan Vlastelica
                                
 NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged
higher on Wednesday, hours after U.S. President Barack Obama
called for a lower corporate tax rate to boost the economy, but
a drop in Boeing's profit limited gains.
                                
 In his State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday
night, the president asked lawmakers to work with him to cut
the corporate tax rate and simplify the tax code, moves that
could lead to higher corporate profits. For details, see
[ID:nN2539641]
                                
 "Obama's comments on taxes and a focus on creating jobs was
clearly what the business community wanted to hear," said
Oliver Pursche, president at Gary Goldberg Financial Services
in Suffern, New York.
                                
 Boeing Co <BA.N> fell 2.5 percent to $70.47 in premarket
trading after the Dow component posted a drop in quarterly
profit. On the upside, fellow component United Technologies
Corp <UTX.N> recorded a higher-than-expected profit. The stock
was 0.7 percent lower to $81.14 premarket. [ID:nN25282428] and
[ID:nN26265614]
                                
 About 70 percent of S&P companies have beaten estimates so
far, but worries that inflation could cut into profits have
caused investors to jump on shares of companies that only
produced spectacular results.
                                
 "I'm feeling good about the earnings season so far, but
expectations are so high that beating earnings estimates by a
couple of pennies isn't significant enough to make investors
excited," Pursche said.
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 5.1 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 <DJc1> added 31
points, off earlier highs. Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> rose 7.5
points.
                                
 WellPoint Inc's <WLP.N> profit beat expectations, while
Textron Inc <TXT.N> forecast 2011 earnings more than tripling
as demand for business jets recovers. [ID:nN26210227] and
[ID:nN26116925]
                                
 Investors awaited comments from the Federal Reserve, which
is expected to nod to an improving economic outlook as it
reaffirms a plan to buy $600 billion in government debt to help
speed a recovery. The comments will be released Wednesday
afternoon. [ID:nN25283937]
                                
 Sara Lee Corp <SLE.N> rejected a buyout offer from a group
of private equity firms, saying it was too low, the New York
Post reported, citing sources. The stock fell 1.7 percent to
$19.30 before the bell. [ID:nSGE70P04C]
                                
 New home sales data for December, expected at 10 a.m. EST
(1500 GMT) will be watched for signs of life in the beaten-up
sector. They were expected to have risen to 300,000 from
290,000 the month before, a Reuters poll found.
                                
 U.S. stocks erased losses in a late flurry of buying to end
little changed on Tuesday as overall optimism about earnings
offset disappointing results from blue chips 3M Co <MMM.N> and
Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N>.
  (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)