U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell yesterday from a record, as investors awaited reports on consumer confidence and house prices.
Workday Inc. (WDAY) jumped 9.3 percent in early New York trading after predicting quarterly revenue that surpassed estimates. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LGND) advanced 3 percent after the market close yesterday as S&P said the company will replace SHFL Entertainment Inc. in its index tracking smaller companies. Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) tumbled 7.5 percent in Germany after forecasting full-year sales that missed analysts' projections.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring next month dropped less than 0.1 percent to 1,802 at 7 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts lost 8 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 16,054.
"The S&P 500 rising to 1,800 is a sign of investor confidence, but also anticipation that earnings growth underpinned by economic growth will follow," said Manish Singh, who manages $2 billion as head of investments at Crossbridge Capital in London. "The risk to markets moving higher is if that growth expectation doesn't materialize."
The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent yesterday as energy shares retreated. The benchmark gauge on Nov. 22 closed above 1,800 for the first time, completing seven straight weeks of gains.
Equity RallyThe benchmark gauge has rallied 26 percent this year, heading for the biggest annual gain since 2003, as the Federal Reserve continued to buy $85 billion of bonds a month to stimulate economic growth. Four out of five investors expect the Fed to delay a decision to begin reducing the stimulus until March 2014 or later, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll on Nov. 19.
U.S. equity markets will close on Nov. 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
A report at 10 a.m. New York time may show the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 72.6 this month from 71.2 in October, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The S&P/Case-Schiller index of home prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed 13 percent in September from the same month in 2012, following a 12.8 percent increase the year ended in August, economists predicted. The report is due at 9 a.m. New York time.
Richmond FedAnother release may show the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's factory index climbed to 4 in November, from 1 a month earlier, economists forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The index covers North Carolina, South Carolina, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and most of West Virginia.
The Commerce Department postponed publishing housing-starts data due today to Dec. 18 because of a lapse in funding after a 16-day partial government shutdown last month. At 8:30 a.m. in Washington, it will release data on building permits for September and October.
Workday surged 9.3 percent to $80.10 in early New York trading after the maker of online human-resources software said it expects fourth-quarter revenue of as much as $138 million, exceeding the average analyst projection for $129 million.
Ligand gained 3 percent to $56.39 in after-hours U.S. trading. The drugmaker was added to the S&P Smallcap 600 Index, replacing SHFL on the gauge starting tomorrow, S&P said in a statement yesterday.
Nuance slid 7.5 percent to $14.80 in Frankfurt trading as the maker of speech-recognition software said it expects full-year 2014 adjusted revenue of $2.03 billion to $2.09 billion. Analysts on average had forecast $2.1 billion.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) fell 1.1 percent to $35.41 in early New York trading as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its recommendation on the largest U.S. miner to neutral from buy, citing a lack of near-term catalysts to drive the stock higher.
Tiffany & Co. (TIF), the world's second-largest luxury jewelry retailer, and personal-computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) are among companies scheduled to report quarterly earnings today.
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