Ford Earnings, Durables Orders Push Wall Street Higher

 

Stock futures are higher as orders for big-ticket manufactured items fall less than expected in March.

The Commerce Department said Friday that orders for durable goods dropped by 0.8 percent last month, less than the 1.5 percent decline that economists had been expecting.

The report is fanning hopes that a slide in manufacturing is starting to bottom out.

Stock futures have been higher after Ford Motor Co. posted better-than-expected results for the first three months of the year.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 21 at 7,936. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures are up 5.80 at 854.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 14.00 at 1,356.00.

Futures had been essentially flat early Friday ahead of details on how the government is evaluating the health of the nation’s largest banks.

Ford’s report buoyed hopes for the overall economy as the nation’s second-largest automaker reported that it spent $3.7 billion more than it brought in during the quarter. That amount is far less than the $7.2 billion the company burned through in the fourth quarter. The stock jumped 17 percent to $5.25 a share in electronic trading.

The welcome news from Ford comes as investors wait for details on the methodology for the “stress tests” that regulators have given to 19 of the largest U.S. financial institutions. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to outline the Obama administration’s efforts during meetings Friday with finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations, a department official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 29, or 0.4 percent, to 7,944. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.10, or 0.5 percent, to 852.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 9.75, or 0.7 percent, to 1,351.75.

Investors also will look to the government for data on orders for big-ticket manufactured items and new home sales.

Orders to U.S. factories for durable goods — those expected to last at least three years — are expected to show a drop for March. Economists expect that orders fell 1.5 percent in March, according to the consensus of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The Commerce Department report is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Wall Street expects new home sales will show an increase in March for the second straight month. The Commerce Department is expected to report that sales rose last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 340,000 units from 337,000 units in February, according to Thomson Reuters. The report is due at 10 a.m.

In earnings news, manufacturer 3M Co. lowered its full-year profit forecast while manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. said its first-quarter earnings fell 38 percent.

In other trading, bond prices showed slipped. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.95 percent from 2.93 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.11 percent from 0.09 percent Thursday.

The dollar was higher against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.6 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.9 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 2.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 2 percent.

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Associated Press writer Christoper S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

4/24/2009 8:47 AM TIM PARADIS AP Business Writer NEW YORK