Stock futures dip after two-day run; ISM services data due

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK | Tue Nov 5, 2013 7:16am EST

 

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on Tuesday ahead of data on the services sector, putting the S&P 500 on track to halt a two-day winning streak.

The Institute for Supply Management will release its October non-manufacturing index at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a reading of 54.0 versus 54.4 in September.

Data will be closely watched this week, including the delayed readings on gross domestic product and payrolls caused by the partial government shutdown in October, to gauge the health of the economy.

The Federal Reserve has indicated it will not begin to pare its bond-buying program of $85 billion in long-term assets per month until the economy shows signs of improvement, a mantra supported by three central bankers on Monday.

The S&P 500 .SPX is up 24 percent for the year and the Dow .DJI is up 19.3 percent, putting both indexes on track for their best yearly performances since 2003, largely driven by the stimulus measures of the Fed.

S&P 500 futures fell 4.8 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 45 points and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 9.75 points.

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT.O) jumped 21.1 percent to $10.15 in premarket trading after the company said Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will open a manufacturing facility in Arizona in partnership with the mineral crystal specialist to make sapphire materials for Apple's electronic devices.

S&P 500 companies expected to post earnings on Tuesday include IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE.N), Fossil Inc (FOSL.O) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW.O).

With 75 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported results so far, 69 percent have topped Wall Street's expectations, above the long-term average of 63 percent. Just 53 percent have topped revenue forecasts, below the 61 percent average since 2002, Thomson Reuters data showed.

European shares were steady, hovering around five-year highs as mixed results from blue chips and uncertainty in the run-up to an ECB policy meeting kept investor enthusiasm for equities in check. .EU

Asian shares sagged after hawkish comments from China's premier ahead of a key Communist Party meeting, though expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain its stimulus for a while limited losses.


(Editing by Bernadette Baum)