* Fewer companies beat earnings views-TR data
* Cognizant Tech shares drop after cutting outlook
* DigitalGlobe rejects GeoEye takeover bid
* Futures off: Dow 32 pts, S&P; 3.3 pts, Nasdaq 6.75 pts
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures pointed
to a weaker open on Monday as election results in France and
Greece stirred up new uncertainties about how the region would
tackle its ongoing debt crisis.
While futures came well off lows earlier Monday as well as
late Sunday, they still indicated Wall Street would extend
losses from last week, wh en Friday’s weaker-than-expected April
payrolls report sparked the S&P; 500’s worst week of the year.
Greeks voted out ruling parties in elections on Sunday,
dealing a blow to the fragile political consensus that had kept
Europe’s currency bloc intact through more than two years of
crisis. The country’s banking index slid 14 percent.
“The knee-jerk reaction was a little strong, but there’s
chaos in Greece, and being against the deal that
was already agreed upon is almost like progress being set back a
year and a half,” said Scott Freeze, president of StreetOne
Financial in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania.
“The big concern is that this sets us up for substantial
financial losses.”
S&P; 500 futures fell 3.3 points and were below 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 lost 32
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 6.75 points.
Worries over the debt crisis have helped to drive weakness
in U.S. equities in recent months, with investors concerned
about its effects on global growth and corporate profits.
Bearish U.S. economic data, most notably the payrolls
report, have exacerbated fears growth may be stalling.
In France, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande won the
presidency over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, raising pressure on
Germany to pursue a more growth-oriented approach to the
regional crisis.
The U.S. earnings season is winding down, and of the 415 S&P;
500 companies reporting as of Friday morning, 67.5 percent
exceeded estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data. In
contrast, more than 80 percent beat expectations at the start of
the season.
Cognizant Technologies Solutions Corp slumped 12
percent to $61.25 in premarket trading after cutting its
full-year profit and revenue outlook, citing low demand.
Tyson Foods Inc posted higher-than-expected
earnings, helped by improved international demand and price
increases.
Satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe Inc rejected
a $792 million hostile bid from rival GeoEye Inc on
Sunday, saying it substantially undervalued the company and its
prospects.
With last week’s decline, the S&P; 500’s 3.5 percent pop from
an April closing low to a May closing high has largely been
erased.
The index has found support around the April closing low of
1,358.59 in the past, but a breach there could take it back to
1,340.
The benchmark index is moving away from strong resistance at
1,400 after failing to make a convincing move above it.
