NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures pared gains to trade flat on Monday, pressured by a decline in McDonald's shares after its results and as investors booked profits after the S&P 500 index hit yet another closing high on Friday.
McDonald's Corp (MCD) earnings came in a busy week of reports, with about one-third of S&P 500 companies due to report, including Apple (AAPL.O) and entertainment provider Netflix Inc (NFLX).
McDonald's Corp reported a 4 percent rise in quarterly profit, while global sales at established restaurants were in line with analysts' expectations. Shares fell 2 percent to $97.75 in premarket trade.
U.S.-listed shares of UBS (UBS.N) (UBSN.VX) rose 3.3 percent in premarket trade after the Swiss bank said its second-quarter profit beat forecasts despite a $920 million charge to settle a U.S. lawsuit and other matters.
The S&P 500 index (^GSPC) on Friday edged up to end at a second straight record high, while the Dow and Nasdaq stock gauges fell as disappointing earnings results from Microsoft and Google dragged on the market. Stronger-than-expected results from General Electric Co (GE.N) and oilfield services company Schlumberger NV (SLB.N) helped the S&P 500 to offset the tech losses and post a fourth week of gains.
"Considering the rally we've had recently, we are probably likely to move sideways or consolidate gains for a day or two, before moving up higher as earnings season intensifies. Nevertheless, the summer rally continues," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.
In economic news, June existing-home sales data is due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). For home sales, a Reuters survey of economists expect a reading of an annualized 5.25 million units, compared with a prior reading of 5.18 million.
Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB.N), best known for its Kleenex tissues, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, as cost savings helped offset the negative impact of foreign exchange rates.
Halliburton Co (HAL), the world's second-largest oilfield services company, posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it made more headway outside its home U.S. market. The stock was up 0.4 percent in premarket trade.
Analysts' estimates for corporate earnings have been reduced so much that investors believe the targets for the most part should be easily beaten.
Through Friday, of the 104 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings for the quarter, 65.4 percent have reported earnings above analyst expectations, while 51 percent have topped revenue estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.4 point and were in line 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 futures rose 8 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 5 points.
In Europe, shares were broadly unchanged by midday trade as mixed company earnings halted the index's march back towards five-year highs.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Kenneth Barry)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-pare-gains-trade-123430612.html
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