* Starbucks global sales fall short
* Procter & Gamble profit falls
* Futures up: Dow 12 pts, S&P; 0.1 pt, Nasdaq 8.25 pts
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks eyed a fourth day
of gains on Friday, with Amazon the latest company to extend an
earnings-driven rally that has wiped out much of the market’s
losses for April.
* Amazon.com Inc’s quarterly results beat Wall
Street’s most bullish expectation as North America Media
revenue, which includes books, DVDs and music, rose 17 percent
The stock jumped 14.5 percent to $224.48 in premarket trade.
* With 254 companies in the S&P; 500 reporting, more than 72
percent have topped estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data
as of Thursday.
* In a potential wild card for markets, the first estimate
of U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product is expected to show
the economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate, a Reuters
poll found, versus 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Investors
have become cautious after signs of a softening recovery.
* S&P; 500 futures rose 0.1 percent and were above
fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into
account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration of the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 12
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 8.25 points.
* The S&P; 500 is on track for its best week in a month,
rising 1.6 percent so far this week and up for three straight
days. The move has wiped out much of the index’s losses for
April and lifted the index well above its 50-day moving average.
* European shares inched higher early Friday, helped by
encouraging company earnings. The FTSEurofirst 300 index
of top European shares was up 0.3 percent.
* Institutional investors pulled back from equity funds in
the week to April 25, resulting in a modest net outflow for the
sector overall, according to Thomson Reuters’ Lipper data.
* Procter & Gamble Co posted lower quarterly profit
early Friday as the world’s largest household products maker
took charges for a restructuring and absorbed higher commodity
costs.
* Gilead Sciences Inc earnings fell short of
estimates as sales of its flagship HIV drugs rose nearly 20
percent but expenses also moved higher.
* Starbucks Corp reported better-than-expected
quarterly profit but global sales missed estimates due to
weakness in Europe, sending its shares down 5 percent after
hours.
* Newmont Mining Corp, the world’s No. 2 gold
producer, said profit rose as gold prices outpaced higher labor
and power costs.
* Samsung Electronics posted a record $5.2
billion profit as it sold over 20,000 Galaxy smartphones an hour
in January-March, outselling Apple’s iPhone.
