* DuPont shares up as profit triples
* UBS, Deutsche Bank results reassuring
* Futures up: Dow 43 pts; S&P 5.2 pts; Nasdaq 7.5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates prices, adds VIX details, corporate results,
byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Upbeat corporate results from
both sides of the Atlantic lifted U.S. stock index futures on
Tuesday, setting up Wall Street for a fourth straight day of
gains.
Dow component DuPont and Co's <DD.N> second-quarter profit
nearly tripled on strong sales in all five businesses, while
two of Europe's top banks, UBS AG <UBSN.VX><UBS.N> and Deutsche
Bank AG <DBKGn.DE><DB.N>, posted results that reassured
investors following last week's regulatory stress tests. For
details see []
DuPont rose 4.5 percent to $40.85 in premarket trading,
while U.S.-traded shares of UBS jumped 7.4 percent to $16.27
and Deutsche Bank gained 3.3 percent to $68.38.
Bank shares were also boosted a day after the Basel
Committee said it would scale back many of its proposals to
beef up bank capital and liquidity rules, signaling important
concessions in the face of lobbying by banks and some
countries. []
"Strong global earnings numbers are continuing to drive
this recent equity rally," said Andre Bakhos, director of
market analytics at Lek Securities in New York.
"In addition, you've had a host of positive economic
numbers adding to a global recovery picture, and investors are
taking note."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 5.2 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 43
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> added 7.5 points.
S&P futures traded above their 200-day moving average for
the first time in more than a month, tracking the S&P 500
<.SPX> on Monday. Other technical analysis, including the
moving average convergence-divergence and momentum, continue to
show bullish signals for the three top stock indexes.
"Since that moving average signifies the long-term trend it
is usually taken that all is well, and that we are back on
track from the longer-term horizon," Bakhos said. "Even
non-technically oriented market participants have some respect
for the 200-day moving average."
A pulse of investor sentiment, the VIX <.VIX> fell more
than 3 percent to 22.73 on Monday, breaking below its 200-day
moving average of 23.38. The CBOE Volatility Index, a 30-day
risk forecast of stock market volatility, hit its lowest close
since May 3.
Oil giant BP Plc <BP.L><BP.N> plans to offset the entire
cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill against its tax bill,
possibly reducing future contributions to U.S. tax coffers by
almost $10 billion. BP took a pretax provision of $32.2 billion
for the second quarter, triggering a $17 billion loss. It also
named American Bob Dudley as its next chief executive,
replacing Tony Hayward, as expected.
Shares of Lexmark International Inc <LXK.N> rose 6.3
percent to $37 after the computer printer maker reported higher
quarterly profits. []
Economic data on tap for Tuesday includes the May reading
of S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, expected to be up 4
percent, compared with April's increase of 3.8 percent,
according to a Reuters survey.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for July
is expected to have fallen to 51.0 from 52.9. The data will be
watched more closely than usual because of the slump in the
University of Michigan sentiment survey 10 days earlier.
An upbeat outlook from FedEx Corp <FDX.N>, coupled with
encouraging home sales, lifted U.S. stocks on Monday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1.1 percent, closing above
the 1,100 level for the second straight day, which represented
the top of a trading range it had failed to break several times
in the past month.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
