28 July 2005, 16:06  DaimlerChrysler jumps, but stock futures flattish

U.S. stock market futures looked flat on Thursday amid another flood of earnings, despite some standout company performances after the heads of DaimlerChrysler and AstraZeneca said they'd leave. S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 of a point while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.5 point. Crude oil futures rose 18 cents to $59.29 a barrel, while the dollar saw some gains against the yen. Weekly jobless claims data is ahead. DaimlerChrysler shares jumped close to 10% in Frankfurt trading after saying CEO Jurgen Schrempp will step down at the end of the year, to be replaced by the head of Chrysler, and reporting a 28% profit rise. British pharmaceutical AstraZeneca PLC rose over 4% in London after saying that its chief executive Tom McKillop will retire at the end of 2005 and raising its 2005 financial targets. Dow Chemical said second-quarter net income rose 85% to $1.27 billion, or $1.30 a share, with sales up 16% to $11.5 billion. After adjusting for a 10 cent a share benefit, its earnings would've missed Thomson First Call-compiled consensus forecasts of $1.22 a share. Prices rose 20% from a year ago, and the company said it expects year-on-year earnings growth through the remainder of the year, as well as further earnings growth in 2006. Beazer Homes USA Inc. reported net income of $112.7 million, or $2.50 a share, for the third quarter ended June 30, up from $59.7 million, or $1.42 a share, earned in the same period in fiscal 2004. The homebuilder's quarterly revenue reached $1.29 billion from $1.01 billion, up 28%. Analysts, on average, had been looking for the company to earn $2.05 a share on revenue of $1.24 billion, according to estimates compiled by Thomson First Call. Beazer Homes said it's raising its full-year profit range to $8 to $8.25 a share, up from $7 to $7.25 previously; Wall Street's average stands at $7.26. Hartford, Conn.-based insurer Aetna Inc. said second quarter net income rose 43.1% to $409.7 million, or $1.35 a share, from higher membership levels, strong underwriting results, and continued general and administrative expense efficiencies. Excluding reserve development, its operating earnings of $1.20 a share were ahead of Thomson First Call-compiled consensus forecasts of $1.08 a share. Siemens , the German industrial conglomerate and General Electric rival, fell over 3% as fiscal third-quarter profit fell 52%.

© 1999-2024 Forex EuroClub
All rights reserved