Stock index futures signal mixed open

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.07 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.02 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.04 percent at 0935 GMT.

Soft Chinese data, showing barely any growth in factory activity in the world's second-biggest economy in April, raised concerns in international markets about the health of the global economy.

Netflix Inc will be in the spotlight after it posted solid subscriber growth and better-than-expected profits in the first quarter, sending its shares soaring 24 percent in after-hours trade.

Texas Instruments Inc posted first-quarter results slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations and forecast growth for the current quarter on improving demand for its chips.

Sprint Nextel said on Monday that its board had formed a special committee of independent directors to review Dish Network's $25.5 billion takeover bid for the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider.

Insurer ACE Ltd reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates as commercial insurance rates continued to improve in the United States, and it raised its profit expectations for the year.

Credit Suisse Group AG has agreed to sell a private equity business to Blackstone Group , the latest move by an investment bank to sell a business with illiquid assets in order to appease regulators and bolster its balance sheet.

A consumer protection agency in Brazil has taken aim at the Happy Meal, fining McDonald's Corp on Monday for targeting children with its advertising and toys. The Procon agency in the state of Sao Paulo fined the fast-food company 3.2 million reais ($1.6 million), adding fuel to a global debate about fast food and public health.

On the macro front, investors awaited Markit's flash U.S. manufacturing PMI for April. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 54.0 compared 54.6 in the final March release.

On the earnings side, a batch of results was expected from companies such as Amgen , DuPont , Lockheed Martin , Xerox Corp. and Yum! Brands Inc. .

European shares rose on Tuesday as upbeat earnings and outlooks from a number of companies such as Richemont and STMicroelectronics overshadowed concerns about the global economy after the Chinese data and a purchasing managers' survey showing a sharp drop in German business activity.

U.S. stocks climbed on Monday as last week's sharp losses brought buyers back to the market and Microsoft Corp shares jumped after an activist investor took a stake in the company.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 19.66 points, or 0.14 percent, to 14,567.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 7.25 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,562.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> advanced 27.50 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 3,233.55.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-mixed-open-100239310--finance.html

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