By Matt Townsend
July 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will slump after climbing to an eight-month high, as Microsoft Corp., American Express Co. and Amazon.com Inc. posted disappointing quarterly results.
Microsoft retreated 6.9 percent on lower profit and sales than analysts estimated. American Express slipped 5 percent after saying earnings decreased as the recession made it harder for cardholders to keep up with payments. Amazon.com lost 6.6 percent following price cuts that caused the online retailer’s revenue to miss projections.
S&P 500 futures expiring in September declined 0.5 percent to 963.80 at 2:49 p.m. in Tokyo. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 29 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,962. U.S. stocks surged yesterday, sending the Dow above 9,000 for the first time since January, as EBay Inc., Ford Motor Co. and AT&T Inc. beat estimates and home resales increased more than forecast.
“At these levels in the market, there’s not a lot of room for error,” said Mark Freeman, who helps manage $7.5 billion at Westwood Management Corp. in Dallas. “Anything that deviates brings about a reevaluation by the market.”
Yesterday, the S&P 500 climbed to the highest level since President Barack Obama was elected on Nov. 4, advancing 2.3 percent to 976.29. The Dow gained 188.03 points, or 2.1 percent, to 9,069.29, the highest since one session after Election Day. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.5 percent to 1,973.60 for a 12th straight gain, its longest winning streak since 1992.
Record Pace
Microsoft, American Express and Amazon.com’s worse-than- estimated results followed two weeks of earnings reports that exceeded projections. Among S&P 500 companies that have posted second-quarter results, 74.1 percent beat the average analyst forecast, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the highest full-quarter figure on record, Bloomberg data going back to 1993 show. Three-hundred and three S&P 500 companies have yet to report for the period.
Microsoft fell 6.9 percent to $23.80 in late trading in New York. The biggest software maker reported a 29 percent drop in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and posted sales that missed analysts’ estimates, a sign that demand for Windows and Office software is still declining. Per-share profit excluding some items was 36 cents, missing the average forecast by 2.4 percent.
American Express retreated 5 percent to $27.99. The credit- card issuer reported second-quarter sales of $6.09 billion, or 1.4 percent less than analysts projected. Net income from continuing operations decreased 48 percent to $342 million.
Free Shipping
Amazon.com lost 6.6 percent to $87.66. The world’s largest Internet retailer has sought to ward off competitors by cutting prices and adding products, such as low-cost laptops and outdoor equipment. Its low prices and free-shipping offers have started to eat into profit, said Aaron Kessler, an analyst at Kaufman Brothers LP. Sales of $4.65 billion were 1 percent less than analysts estimated on average.
EBay rallied 11 percent yesterday as its earnings signaled consumers’ appetite for online commerce is starting to recover. Ford jumped 9.4 percent after topping analyst estimates by paring expenses and adding market share. AT&T added 2.6 percent as new customers of Apple Inc.’s iPhone bolstered profit. D.R. Horton Inc. led all 13 stocks in an index of homebuilders higher as sales of existing homes increased for a third straight month. Before yesterday, the Dow last exceeded 9,000 on Jan. 6.
“With the round number of 9,000 not being there for a significant amount of time, it’s encouraging,” Michael Koskuba, who helps oversee $44 billion at Victory Capital Management Inc. in New York, said of yesterday’s rally. “It’s really a result of companies reporting better-than-expected news. That’s encouraging given that we are in a difficult economic environment.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Townsend in New York at mtownsend9@bloomberg.net.
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