Futures suggest flat open after multi-week rally
Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Monday as some solid corporate results weren't enough to persuade investors to revive a multi-week rally.
The S&P's seven-week-long advance came to an end last week, and the Nasdaq fell more than 2 percent as investors pulled back from outperforming technology shares.
The Dow, however, notched its eighth week of gains, its longest streak since a March-through-April run in 2010 when the index hit a high that stood for six weeks.
It's going to be tough for us to move higher since we need to digest the long period we had of nice gains with little volatility, said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York.
We'd need really very good earnings numbers and forecasts to continue up, and so far the numbers have been just OK.
Dow component McDonald's Corp
Halliburton Co
S&P 500 futures rose 1.8 point and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 12 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1 point.
More than 10 Dow components are set to report results this week, including American Express Co
Sara Lee Corp
Packaging and paper company RockTenn Co
Investors will look to U.S. President Barack Obama's annual State of the Union address Tuesday night in an speech that will likely focus on jobs and economic growth.
The Federal Reserve's FOMC two-day meeting, which ends on Wednesday, will also draw significant interest. The Fed was expected to acknowledge brighter economic prospects without changing the course of its much-maligned bond buying program.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
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