* H-P CEO resigns after accusations of falsifying expenses
* No major data, Tuesday's Fed meeting in focus
* Futures up: S&P 5.1 pts, Dow 37 pts, Nasdaq 7.25 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Adds byline, quote)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Monday as investors shrugged off last week's dismal
employment data and shifted focus to technology shares,
including Hewlett-Packard Co after its chief executive
resigned.
H-P <HPQ.N> CEO Mark Hurd quit after an investigation found
he had falsified expense reports to conceal a "close personal
relationship" with a female contractor, the company said on
Friday. The stock rose 2 percent at $42.69 in premarket trade
on Monday. For details, see [] and
[]
Apple Inc <AAPL.O> will also be in view after the company
said the executive in charge of engineering for its iPhone has
left in the wake of complaints over poor reception on the
latest version of company's smartphone. []. Apple
shares edged 0.2 percent higher in premarket trade to $260.66.
With just the Conference Board's July job index due,
investors will watch the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's
meeting on Tuesday. The Fed is widely expected to renew its vow
to keep rates near zero for an extended period.
Markets will watch closely to see if Fed officials are
growing more concerned the recovery is at risk or that there is
a danger of falling into a vicious cycle of falling prices and
slowing growth. []
"The consensus for now is that the Fed is going to once
again ease their quantitative efforts which will give a boost
to the otherwise quiet market," said Peter Cardillo, chief
market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.
Shares of Research in Motion Ltd <RIM.TO><RIMM.O> will also
be in the spotlight after a Saudi official said the BlackBerry
maker and Saudi mobile firms were testing three servers to send
communications and data through Saudi Arabia before Canada to
address Riyadh's concerns over security. [] The
stock gained 1 percent to $53.95 in premarket trade.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 5.3 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> gained 37
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> were up 7.25 points.
European shares rebounded from Friday's sharp losses, with
commodity stocks leading gainers, supported by stronger metal
and oil prices.
Oil futures <CLc1> were up 1 percent to $81.51 per barrel.
U.S. stocks fell on Friday after government data showed a
larger-than-expected drop in July payrolls, but major indexes
closed well above the day's lows.
Stocks had been rising over the past five weeks, largely on
the back of solid earnings. The S&P 500 is up 9.7 percent from
its closing low for the year set on July 2.
Of the 443 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported
earnings to date, 75 percent have posted earnings above
expectations, with only 9 percent missing estimates, according
to Thomson Reuters data.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
