* Earnings boost futures after strong July gains
* JPMorgan upgrades Coca-Cola
* Futures up: S&P 12.8 pts, Dow 105 pts, Nasdaq 20.25 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Writes through, adds details, quote, byline)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
sharply higher on Monday, with Wall Street poised to build on
last month's solid gains, as investors focused on encouraging
corporate results, including strong bank earnings out of
Europe.
Wall Street wrapped up its best month in a year on Friday,
with the major indexes posting 7 percent increases for July as
markets bounced back from a sell-off through May and June.
Strong results in Europe from big banks BNP Paribas SA
<BNPP.PA> and HSBC Plc <HSBA.L><HBC.N> heartened investors on
Monday. Optimism over earnings season has offset signs the pace
of the economic recovery is slowing of late, though there have
been concerns that revenue growth has not been as strong as
hoped. For details, see []
U.S. bank shares were also lifted following the results,
with Citigroup Inc <C.N> up 1.7 percent to $4.17 in premarket
trading. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported results so
far, 75 percent have come in better than expected, according to
Thomson Reuters data.
"With companies such as HSBC and BNP Paribas reporting
better-than-expected numbers this morning, it lends itself to
be a bullish backdrop to the start of the month," said Andre
Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New
York.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> gained 12.8 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> jumped
105 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> rose 20.25 points.
Shares of Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> rose 1.5 percent to $55.95
before the opening bell after Barron's business weekly reported
over the weekend the soft drink maker's shares could rise 10
percent or more in the next year. As well, JPMorgan upgraded
Coke to "overweight" from "neutral" and boosted its price
target to $66 from $62. [] []
On the economic front, manufacturing in China shrank in
July for the first time since March 2009, while it perked up in
the euro zone. Markets appeared to take the Chinese data as a
signal of a desired slowdown rather than an indication of a
slump. []
Domestic data on tap later in the morning includes ISM
manufacturing for July and construction spending for June, both
due at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). The ISM reading is expected to
come in at 54.1, compared with 56.2 the month before, while
construction spending is seen falling 0.5 percent versus a
decline of 0.2 the previous month, according to a Reuters
poll.
BP Plc <BP.L><BP.N> could start plugging its deep sea oil
well in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday night, more than three
months after its rupture led to the worst offshore oil spill in
U.S. history. BP's U.S.-listed shares rose 1.4 percent to $39.
ID:nN01205078]
Barron's also said Bank of America Corp's <BAC.N> shares
have potential upside after dropping since April, and that Ford
Motor Co's <F.N> shares are poised to rise in the next year.
Bank of America was up 1.9 percent to $14.31, while Ford rose
1.8 percent to $13.
Energy shares could get a lift as oil hit a 12-week high
near $80 a barrel on optimism over the strength of the recovery
and the outlook for energy demand. Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> was
up 1.4 percent at $60.54.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
