Stock Tick Higher Ahead of Manufacturing Data

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were edging up Tuesday ahead of a key U.S. manufacturing activity report.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 14 points, or 11.4 points above fair value, at 13,169. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.9 points, or 0.6 points above fair value, at 1395, and futures for the Nasdaq were ahead by 1.8 points, or 1.4 points above fair value, at 2721.

Stocks finished modestly lower Monday, marking the first monthly decline for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in 2012, as shaky U.S. economic data dominated the headlines.

The Institute for Supply Management's April gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity will be released at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the index slipped to 53 from a reading of 53.4 in March. A reading of more than 50 indicates growth in activity.

The highlight of the economic calendar this week is Friday's April nonfarm payrolls report. The economy added only 120,000 jobs in March, about half the gains posted in the previous three months, disappointing investors who were hoping for continuing signs of a strengthening economy.

Eurozone debt fears, specifically economic worries for Spain continued to linger as well as the country has now slipped into recession again after reporting on Monday that its gross domestic product shrank for a second straight quarter. Standard & Poor's slashed the credit ratings of several of the Spanish banks as the first-quarter GDP report was released Monday.

A brighter spot in the global economic headlines Tuesday was China, which looks to be on track for a soft landing, after posting a modestly stronger read on its industrial sector. The country's official purchasing managers' index rose to 53.3 last month, its strongest in more than a year, from 53.1 in March.

It's expected to be a light trading session Tuesday overseas, with most of the main Asian and European markets closed for the May Day holiday. London's FTSE was up 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei Average finished down 1.8%.

In corporate news, oil giant BP (BP) said first-quarter net profit fell 18%, hurt by weakness in its downstream business. BP posted net profit of $5.9 billion, down from $7.3 billion a year earlier. Replacement cost profit declined 12% to $4.9 billion. Underlying replacement cost profit at BP's downstream business fell 58%. Shares were falling 2.3%.

Drug giant Pfizer ( PFE) reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 58 cents a share on revenue of $15.4 billion; analysts were expecting earnings of 56 cents a share on revenue of $15.47 billion. Pfizer's first-quarter earnings of $1.8 billion fell from year-earlier earnings of $2.2 billion. The drug maker is fresh off last week's agreement to sell its nutrition business to Nestlé for $11.85 billion. Shares were down 0.4%.

Satellite radio company Sirius XM ( SIRI) beat Wall Street's revenue estimate in the first quarter, boosted by strong subscriber growth. The satellite radio giant brought in revenue of $805 million, up from $724 million in the prior year's quarter, and above analysts' estimates of $803.83. Shares were rising 2.4%.

In commodity markets, the June crude oil contract was down 31 cents to trade at $104.56 a barrel. June gold futures were off $1.40 to $1,662.80 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury was rising 1/32, diluting the yield to 1.917%. The dollar was trading sideways, according to the dollar index.

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-- Written by Andrea Tse in New York.



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