Stock Futures Rise; Goldman Beats, Citigroup's Pandit Steps Down

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were poised for a higher Wall Street open on Tuesday amid a day filled with strong earnings reports from the likes of Goldman Sachs (GS), Coca-Cola (KO) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 60 points to 13,419. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 7 points to 1443. Nasdaq futures were adding more than 14 points to 2746.

The U.S. consumer price index jumped 0.6% in September as higher gasoline prices contributed to the increase. Excluding food an energy, CPI climbed 0.1%, the same as August.

"I think the market is holding onto the gains from yesterday amid signs we could see some progress with Spain and its possible bailout, and obviously we're continuing to watch the earnings reports come out," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments.

The FTSE 100 in London was up about 1%, while the DAX in Germany was gaining 1.2%. Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.4% overnight to close at 8,701. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.28%.

A senior official within the Spanish ministry of economy told the Financial Times the country would consider a request for a credit line in order to fulfill conditions of the European Central Bank to start a fresh round of bond purchases.

September consumer prices rose 0.4% in the United Kingdom, while raw material and fuel costs fell 0.2% in September against a 1.9% rise in August.

Gold for December delivery was adding $5.60 to $1,743.20 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, while November crude oil contracts were shedding 3 cents to $91.82 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury was dipping 12/32, boosting the yield to 1.70%. The dollar was down 0.48%, according to the U.S. dollar index.

In corporate news, Citigroup (C) announced that CEO Vikram Pandit has stepped down as the bank's head and as a member of the bank's board. Michael Corbat was given the nod as the company's new CEO. Pandit had held the position since December 2007.

"Thanks to the dedication and sacrifice of people across Citigroup, we have emerged from the financial crisis as a strong institution. Citigroup is well-positioned for continued profitability and growth, having refocused the franchise on the basics of banking," Pandit said in a company statement.

Shares of the bank were falling $1.18, or 3.2%, to $35.48 in premarket trading.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH), which recently replaced Kraft Foods as a blue chip on the Dow, reported earnings of $1.50 a share on revenue of $27.3 billion. The health care company's earnings beat analysts' expectations of $1.31 a share.

Shares of United Health were adding $1.16, or 2%, to $58.65.

Coca-Cola said third-quarter net income rose 4% to $2.31 billion, or 50 cents a share. Revenue was $12.34 billion vs. $12.25 a year earlier.

Shares of the company were down 11 cents, or 0.29%, to $38.02.

Goldman Sachs reported third-quarter earnings of $2.85 a share, as revenue hit $8.35 billion. The report beat analysts' estimates of $2.12 a share on $7.30 billion in revenue.

Shares of the bank were adding 9 cents, or 0.07%, to $124.59.

Johnson & Johnson reported third-quarter earnings of $1.25 a share on revenue of $17.10 billion. The company beat analysts' expectations of $1.21 a share on revenue of $16.98 billion.

The company's shares were increasing 65 cents, or 0.95%, to $69.25.

Mattel (MAT) reported a profit of $365.9 million, or $1.04 a share, after analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 99 cents a share.

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