US futures flat after two-day gain

The US bourse is set to open higher as European leaders get ready to meet.

The US bourse is set to open higher as European leaders get ready to meet.

Published May 20, 2014

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New York - US stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday, after the S&P 500 advanced for two straight days and investors assessed some of the final corporate results of earnings season.

* Home Depot lost 1.6 percent to $75.25 in premarket trade after the home improvement retailer reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales as its spring selling season got off to a slow start.

* Staples Inc tumbled 10.6 percent to $11.97 after the office supply retailer posted first-quarter earnings and forecast a decline in sales in the current quarter.

* US stocks rose on Monday, with a rally in high-growth names among Internet and biotech shares pushing the Nasdaq to a gain of nearly 1 percent, as investors shrugged off recent concerns about stock valuations and the economy's growth prospects.

* S&P 500 e-mini futures 0.75 point and were roughly even with 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 e-mini futures gained 10 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures 4.25 points.

* US-listed shares of AstraZeneca advanced 2.1 percent to $72.10 in premarket after its twelfth largest shareholder, Schroders, joined a chorus of investor disapproval over its rejection of a takeover offer by Pfizer and urged it back into talks.

* Aeroflex Holding Corp jumped 25.8 percent to $10.45 before the opening bell.

British aerospace and defense supplier Cobham is buying the US communications equipment maker for $1.46 billion.

* The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index slipped on Tuesday as Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile network operator, sank after reporting huge impairment costs.

* MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped about 0.3 percent.

But Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average bucked the downtrend to break a four-session losing streak. - Reuters

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