US Stock Futures Signal Lower Start On Wall Street, Earnings In Focus

US stock futures are lower this morning. Investors are awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22 points to 12,174.00, while those for the S&P 500 index declined 4.9 points to 1,316.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 7.50 points to 2,355.25.

US stocks closed higher, with the Dow gaining 0.59% to close at 12,233 yesterday.

MetLife (NYSE: MET) is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $1.10 on revenue of $13.50 billion. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $0.72 on revenue of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.01 per share on revenue of $8.80 billion.

Allstate Corp (NYSE: ALL) is expected to report its Q4 EPS at $0.88 on revenue of $6.28 billion. Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.45 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE: IR) is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.65 on revenue of $3.58 billion. Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is projected to post its earnings at $0.35 per share on revenue of $10.24 billion in second quarter.

Shares of Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE: SNY) dropped about 2% in pre-market trading after the company reported a decline in its Q4 earnings.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ: TTWO) gained 3% in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat results for the December quarter.

Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) reported its Q1 profit at $1.33 billion, or $0.68 per share, up from $844 million, or $0.44 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's revenue increased to $10.7 billion from $9.74 billion. However, analysts expected a profit of $0.56 per share on revenue of $10.5 billion.

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.26%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.37%.

Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.17% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.24%.

Gold futures for April delivery dropped $0.80 to $1,363.30 an ounce. However, crude oil futures for March delivery gained $0.20 to $87.14 a barrel. The dollar gained about 0.3% against the Japanese yen.

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