Stock futures mixed, focus on earnings

April 22, 2010 - 0:0

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Wednesday with Nasdaq lifted by blowout earnings from Apple late Tuesday as the focus shifting to results from four Dow components and other bellwethers including Morgan Stanley.

Apple Inc shares hit an all-time high in late trading on Tuesday after its quarterly results blew past expectations on the back of record iPhone sales, and the company gave a strong revenue forecast.
Shares rose 5.3 percent to $257.50 in premarket trading on Wednesday.
Dow component United Technologies Corp posted a 20 percent rise in profit, ending a four-quarter streak of declines. Its shares closed at $74.20 on Tuesday.
Results from fellow Dow components Boeing Co, McDonald's Corp and AT&T Inc are also on tap.
S&P 500 futures fell 2.4 points but were slightly 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 fell 29 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4.75 points.