3:28 AM
Stock index futures signal small rebound
Addison Ray
NEW YORK | Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:33am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.34 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.12 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 0921 GMT.
* A string of U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday indicated the central bank will soon offer further monetary stimulus to the economy, with one saying $100 billion a month in bond buys may be appropriate.
* General Electric Co (GE.N), Honeywell International (HON.N) and United Technologies (UTX.N) are among the suitors for BAE Systems' (BAES.L) aerospace unit that could fetch up to $2 billion for Europe's top defense group, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
* Yahoo Inc's (YHOO.O) quarterly sales forecast disappointed Wall Street and underscored how the one-time Internet leader is struggling to keep up with Google Inc (GOOG.O) and Facebook.
* Boston Scientific Corp (BSX.N) posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings as a slump in sales of its medical devices was less severe than feared, and its shares rose after-hours.
* Juniper Networks' (JNPR.N) quarterly revenue slightly missed Wall Street's expectations, disappointing investors who had hoped for stronger signs of a recovery in network spending.
* Western Digital Corp (WDC.N) sought to reassure investors about the slowing hard-drive business, as the advent of tablet computers eats into computer demand.
* Companies expected to report earnings on Wednesday include Boeing Co (BA.N), Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O), Altria Group Inc (MO.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Stanley Black & Decker Inc (SWK.N), U.S. Bancorp (USB.N), United Technologies (UTX.N), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) and Xilinx Inc (XLNX.O).
* Economic events include the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book of economic data gathered from its 12 regional banks.
* Oil rose above $80 a barrel, supported by signs that U.S. fuel stockpiles are falling and as some investors took the view that an interest rate increase by China would do little to dampen its oil use.
* European stocks were flat in morning trade, with gains in pharma stocks offset by losses in the energy sector.
* U.S. stocks posted their biggest loss in two months on Tuesday on fears banks might be on the hook for billions of dollars in souring mortgage bonds.
* The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 165.07 points, or 1.48 percent, to 10,978.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX lost 18.81 points, or 1.59 percent, to 1,165.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 43.71 points, or 1.76 percent, to 2,436.95.
* The S&P 500 fell the most since mid-August when equities were in a steep selloff. The index closed below its 10-day moving average, which some traders see as a bearish sign.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by David Holmes)
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