US futures tick up after biggest drop in months

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 Feb 4, 2014

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New York - US stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday as the market looked to regain its footing following the largest selloff in months.

* Wall Street kicked off a global equities selloff Monday, with the S&P 500 suffering its worst drop since June, after weaker-than-expected US data added to concerns over growth in China and the outlook for some emerging economies.

* Equities in Japan and Seoul fell to multi-month lows overnight and Europe followed suit, weighed further by earnings disappointment.

* The current earnings season has been overshadowed by macroeconomic events. Investors focused on emerging markets, where a recent rout in currencies spurred some central banks to raise interest rates or intervene to limit the swings.

That pressured bond and stock holdings and forced investors to exit in favor of assets perceived as relatively safe like the yen.

* The concerns drove the price of protection against further drops on the S&P 500 to its highest in 13 months.

The CBOE Volatility Index on Monday rose 16.5 percent to close at its highest since December 28, 2012.

The VIX is up 56 percent so far in 2014.

* S&P 500 e-mini futures rose 6 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 rose 34 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 9.5 points.

* Of the 250 companies in the S&P 500 that have recently reported earnings, 69.7 percent have beaten analysts' profit expectations, while 66.0 percent have exceeded revenue expectations, according to the latest data from Thomson Reuters.

* Michael Kors Holdings Ltd reported a 77 percent jump in third-quarter profit as shoppers snapped up its handbags and accessories, sending its shares up more than 19 percent in premarket trading.

* International Paper Co, the largest North American producer of corrugated shipping boxes, said fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled, due in part to strong sales to Amazon and other retail customers. - Reuters

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