Dec. 21 -- U.S. stock-index futures climbed after Research In Motion Ltd. reported earnings that topped analysts' estimates and investors speculated Merrill Lynch & Co. may receive a $5 billion cash infusion.
Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phone, surged in trading before the open of U.S. exchanges. Merrill rallied after the Wall Street Journal said Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings Pte. may take a stake in the world's largest brokerage.
Standard and Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March added 13.1 to 1,487.8 at 8:31 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 80 to 13,430. Nasdaq-100 Index futures climbed 19.25 to 2,117.75.
The S&P 500 has dropped 0.5 percent so far this week, while the Dow average fell 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq retreated 0.2 percent. The weekly decline trimmed the S&P 500's gain for 2007 to 3 percent. The Dow has gained 6.3 percent and the Nasdaq has climbed 9.3 percent this year.
``Research In Motion's results show that quality companies can continue to deliver even in a toughening economic environment,'' said Ed Wallace, who helps oversee $4 billion in global equities at Gartmore Investment Management in London.
U.S. stocks climbed yesterday, led by computer companies after Oracle Corp. reported better-than-expected earnings.
Analysts estimate that S&P 500 companies on average had a 2.7 percent decline in fourth-quarter earnings from a year earlier as the economy slowed and banks reported losses from subprime-mortgage loans. Excluding financials, fourth-quarter profits are expected to gain 11.6 percent, according to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt.
The number of shares and stock options traded may be above average today, reflecting the expiration of futures and options on indexes and individual stocks. So-called quadruple witching occurs once every three months.
Research In Motion
Research In Motion surged $12.57 to $119.59 in Germany after the company said third-quarter profit more than doubled to $370.5 million, or 65 cents a share, topping analysts' estimates.
Sales also doubled to $1.67 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 1. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had estimated profit of 62 cents and sales of $1.65 billion.
Mobile devices such as the BlackBerry have ``potential for high growth'' despite an economic slowdown, analysts at Bear Stearns Cos. said, raising their recommendation on Research In Motion to ``outperform'' from ``peer perform.'' They estimate the shares could climb to between $150 and $170.
Merrill analysts lifted their price estimate on the stock by 7 percent to $150.
Merrill climbed 95 cents to $55.45. Temasek's board has given preliminary approval for an investment in the firm, which is reeling from the biggest loss in its 93-year history, the Journal said.
Marsh & McLennan Cos. surged $1.51, or 6.1 percent, to $26.40. The world's largest insurance broker said it will replace Chief Executive Officer Michael G. Cherkasky after the company's performance this year fell ``far short'' of expectations. The board decided a change in leadership ``will best enable MMC to move forward and enhance shareholder value,'' the company said.
M&A
Respironics Inc. climbed $12.39, or 23 percent, to $65.50 after Royal Philips Electronics NV, the world's biggest manufacturer of patient-monitoring systems, agreed to buy the company for 3.6 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in its biggest-ever acquisition. Philips will pay $66 a share in cash, 24 percent higher than yesterday's closing price.
``Companies with strong balance sheets and cash to spend are still willing to participate in mergers and acquisitions despite broader credit concerns,'' Wallace said. ``That's a good thing for the market.''
Schering-Plough Corp. climbed 11 cents to $26.31 after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. raised its recommendation for the drugmaker to ``overweight'' from ``equal-weight,'' citing a 9.7 percent drop in the shares since Dec. 11.
Boeing
``With organic revenue and earnings growth expected at the higher end of the U.S. pharma industry for 2008, we view this recent pullback as a solid buying opportunity,'' analysts wrote in a note to investors today.
Boeing Co. gained 76 cents to $87.95 after the second- largest U.S. defense contractor said it was chosen by NASA to build two communications satellites in a contract with a potential value of $1.2 billion.
Red Hat Inc. advanced 64 cents to $19.43 in Germany. The world's biggest seller of Linux operating-system programs named former Delta Air Lines Inc. Chief Operating Officer James Whitehurst as chief executive officer and said third-quarter profit rose 39 percent.
Circuit City Stores Inc. plunged $1.68, or 25 percent, to $4.98. The second-largest U.S. consumer-electronics retailer reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss after discounts failed to draw customers. The company said it also now expects a fourth-quarter loss.
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