* Halliburton shares rise after Q4 profit tops view
* McDonald's on tap to report, AmEx due after the bell
* Some analysts forecast pullback after recent gains
* Futures: Dow off 3 pts, S&P up 0.6 pt, Nasdaq off 1.75
(Adds quote, Halliburton results)
NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Monday as investors assessed whether a rally
that started about two months ago had any more steam left.
The S&P's seven-week-long advance came to an end last week,
while the Dow notched its eighth week of gains. The Dow's
streak is the longest since a March-through-April run in 2010,
when the Dow average hit a high that stood for six weeks.
Many technical analysts and other market observers see the
uptrend continuing through at least the first half of the year,
but others have forecast a pullback in the near term.
"We could be nearing a point where the market gives back
some of its gains, though I don't think it will give back all
of them," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan
Partners LLC in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. "I'm comfortable
with the gains we've had because I believe the economy is back
on track."
The earnings season will continue to be a factor, with more
than 10 Dow components set to report this week. McDonald's Corp
<MCD.N> is scheduled for Monday, along with American Express Co
<AXP.N> after the bell. Bellwethers Texas Instruments Inc
<TXN.N> and are also scheduled. No economic data is expected on
Monday.
Halliburton Co <HAL.N> rose 1 percent to $39.59 in
premarket trading after the oilfield services company reported
a fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations. For details,
see []
"This falls right in line with the strong results out of
Schlumberger Ltd <SLB.N> and suggests there's still plenty more
upside potential left in this sector," Pavlik said.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 0.6 point and were slightly
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>
lost 3 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> slipped 1.75
points.
The Nasdaq fell more than 2 percent last week as investors
pulled back from outperforming technology shares.
Sara Lee Corp <SLE.N> will weigh an offer this week from a
group of private equity firms that values the company at nearly
$13 billion, a source said. The food company rose 1.6 percent
to $19 premarket. []
Packaging and paper company RockTenn Co <RKT.N> is buying
bigger rival Smurfit-Stone Container Corp <SSCC.N> for $3.5
billion. Smurfit-Stone shot up 21.7 percent to $33.50 before
the bell. []
Investors will look to U.S. President Barack Obama's annual
State of the Union address Tuesday night in an address that
will likely focus on jobs and economic growth. []
and []
The Federal Reserve's FOMC two-day meeting, which ends on
Wednesday, will also draw significant interest. The Fed was
expected to acknowledge brighter economic prospects without
changing the course of its much-maligned bond buying.
[]
Fourth-quarter gross domestic product data was due on
Friday, with economists expecting that the economy expanded at
a 3.6 percent pace, up from the third quarter's 2.6 percent.
On Friday, the Dow and S&P 500 rose after estimate-beating
results from General Electric Co <GE.N>, a bellwether for the
economy and corporate America.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
