US STOCKS-Futures fall on Apple, IBM as China lifts rates

                                

                                
 * Apple, IBM slide after earnings
                                
 * China raises one-year interest rates by 25 basis points
                                
 * Futures down: Dow 45 pts; S&P 9 pts; Nasdaq 26 pts
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
                                
 NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell
on Tuesday as results from consumer and technology titans Apple
and IBM disappointed investors and raised doubts about the
strength of earnings in the third quarter.
                                
 Further weighing on stocks, China's central bank said it
will raise its benchmark one-year lending and deposit rate by
25 basis points, effective Wednesday. Any signal that China is
trying to cool its economy hampers equities.
                                
 "What we're looking for in the earnings reports is what
companies have to say going forward," said Kim Caughey Forrest,
senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in
Pittsburgh.
                                
 "The news out of China is probably impacting the first half
of 2011. We don't want to see them cooling down."
                                
 Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> shares, which hit a lifetime high on
Monday, fell more than 5 percent in premarket trade and ripped
a hole through Nasdaq futures overnight after it reported its
iPad shipments came in below expectations. It also issued a
conservative outlook for the current quarter. [ID:nN18288374].
                                
 International Business Machines Corp <IBM.N> said it won
fewer technology services deals than expected in the third
quarter, sending its shares 3.5 percent lower premarket,
although it announced stronger profits and raised its full-year
outlook. [ID:nN18152165].
                                
 Results from Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> gave small
support to equities, helping futures pare some losses. Shares
of the largest U.S. bank by assets rose 1 percent in premarket
trade. [ID:nN19106691].
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> dropped 9 points and were below 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> fell 45
points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> lost 26 points.
                                
 Ray Ozzie, the Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> executive who took
over the role of chief software architect from Bill Gates, is
to step down, following a tenure in which the Windows-maker
lost ground to Google and Apple. [ID:nN18289054].
                                
 Microsoft shares were down 2.5 percent premarket.
                                
 A number of Federal Reserve officials will be speaking on
Tuesday, and the schedule includes remarks from Chairman Ben
Bernanke at 4 p.m. (2000 GMT).
                                
 The U.S. Commerce Department releases housing starts and
building permits for September at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).
Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 580,000 annualized
housing-start rate versus 598,000 in August, and a total of
580,000 permits in September compared with 571,000 in the prior
month.
                                
 U.S. stocks advanced on Monday as stronger-than-expected
profit from Citigroup Inc <C.N> helped financial shares shake
off worries that an investigation into foreclosures could
threaten the stability of the housing market.
 (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)