Stocks poised for flat open

sp500futures-8.15am.top.pngClick chart to view more pre-market action. By CNNMoney staff


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for a flat open Monday, as investors mulled earnings results from McDonald's and Halliburton, with no market-moving economic reports on tap.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks closed mixed Friday, with technology shares lagging behind the broader market. For the week, the Dow gained 1.2% while the S&P was flat. The Nasdaq lost about 1.7% over the last five trading days.

"We would have thought that with such good performance out of December that markets would be pulling back and consolidating, but they have resisted," said Bruce McCain, chief market strategist at Key Private Bank.

Positive economic reports and strong earnings are likely to continue to help markets head higher during the first half of the year, he said.

"At this point we've had a really good string of economic reports, and we've had some disappointing earnings along the way but by and large earnings have been good, and they should be strong going forward," McCain said.

Companies: Before the opening bell, Halliburton (HAL, Fortune 500) logged earnings of 68 cents a share on revenue of $5.2 billion. That beat expectations, with analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters looking for earnings of 63 cents, on $4.9 billion in revenue. Shares of the company edged up modestly in pre-market trading.

McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) reported earnings of $1.16 per share on revenue of $6.2 billion -- in line with expectations. Shares of the fast food chain slipped 0.5%.

American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) is expected to report earnings of 97 cents per share, on revenue of $7.3 billion, after the market close.

Sara Lee Corp. (SLE, Fortune 500) jumped 2% in pre-market trading on reports the food company received a takeover bid higher than its current market value, from a group of private equity firms.

World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.3%, while the DAX in Germany slipped 0.5% and France's CAC 40 was flat.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.7% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.3%, as Japan's Nikkei ticked up 0.7%.

Economy: There are no major economic reports on tap for Monday.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for March delivery slipped 29 cents to $88.82 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery rose $7.80 to $1,348.80 an ounce.

Cocoa futures for March delivery jumped 4.5% in early trading, after the Ivory Coast put a one-month ban on cocoa exports.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was little changed, yielding 3.42%.  To top of page

Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.80%
15 yr fixed3.09%3.11%
5/1 ARM2.65%2.69%
30 yr refi3.77%3.86%
15 yr refi3.09%3.21%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 12,454.83 -74.92 -0.60%
Nasdaq 2,837.53 -1.85 -0.07%
S&P 500 1,317.82 -2.86 -0.22%
Treasuries 1.74 -0.01 -0.80%
Data as of 11:41am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Bank of America Corp... 7.15 0.01 0.14%
Sprint Nextel Corp 2.62 0.09 3.56%
Cisco Systems Inc 16.33 -0.06 -0.37%
Chesapeake Energy Co... 15.81 0.23 1.48%
Ford Motor Co 10.60 0.01 0.09%
Data as of May 25

Sections

The Senate hearing will focus JPMorgan's recent $2 billion trading loss, which Dimon announced earlier this month. More

The offer for mail handlers is part of the Postal Service's plan to cut 150,000 jobs by 2015. More

In the whirlwind of its IPO fallout, there has been a sort of glee in watching the company stumble. What's driving the Facebook-schadenfreude and what can the social network do about it? More

One in six children in the United States is obese. These small businesses have found creative -- and lucrative -- ways to fight the childhood obesity epidemic. More

In Harper County, Kansas, oil companies are offering farmers up to $1,250 an acre for the mineral rights that allow them to drill for oil on their property. More

Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.