U.S. Stock Futures Decline After GDP Growth of 2.8% Trails 3.0% Estimate
U.S. Stock Futures Decline
Jin Lee/Bloomberg
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Stephen Roach, non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, talks about the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve monetary policy. Roach, talking with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television's "Surveillance Midday" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, also talks about China's economic strategy and the prospects for Europe. (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stock-index futures retreated after the American economy grew less than estimated in the fourth quarter.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March slipped 0.1 percent to 1,313.7 at 8:32 a.m. in New York.
Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, climbed at a 2.8 percent annual following a 1.8 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed. The median forecast of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 3 percent increase. Excluding a jump in inventories, growth was 0.8 percent.
The S&P 500 has increased 0.2 percent this week, extending its year-to-date gain to 4.8 percent, amid better than-estimated earnings and the Federal Reserve’s plans to safeguard growth by keeping interest rates low until at least the end of 2014 and consider purchasing more bonds if necessary. The index is up almost 20 percent from last year’s low in October, while still 16 percent below its record in October 2007.
Sixty-six percent of the 164 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results since Jan. 9 have topped analysts’ estimates for per-share profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings have grown 3.5 percent for the group on a 5.8 percent increase in sales.
The gauge is trading at 12.6 times projected earnings, compared with a valuation of 11.2 in August, Bloomberg data show.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael P. Regan at mregan12@bloomberg.net
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