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US STOCKS-Futures up; Dow, Nasdaq eye best month since Dec

29.04.2011 , Reuters

* Research in Motion slumps after outlook

* Caterpillar profit surges fivefold

* Futures up: Dow 27 pts, S&P 2.7 pts, Nasdaq 3.25 pts

* For up-to-the-minute market news see STXNEWS/US

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - Strong quarterly results from Caterpillar and Merck on Friday looked set to drive the Dow to its best month since December, with a bullish stock market about to enter the seasonally weak month of May.

Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N>, the world's largest maker of heavy equipment, reported a fivefold surge in quarterly profit early Friday, sending its up about 3 percent to $116.50 in premarket trade. For details, see [

S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 2.7 points and were above 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 <DJc1> added 27 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> put on 3.25 points.

Both the Dow industrials and the Nasdaq are set for their best month since December.

With an economy that grew less rapidly than hoped in the first quarter, investors will look to regional manufacturing data later Friday that could show an easing of activity.

Shares of Research in Motion Ltd <RIMM.O> slumped 12 percent to $49.65 in premarket trading a day after the BlackBerry maker cut its first-quarter outlook, while Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> dipped 1.3 percent to $26.37 after it recording a dip in quarterly sales of its core Windows operating system. [ID:nN28282063','yes')">ID:nN29109180

Merck & Co Inc <MRK.N> reported higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings, fueled by strong sales of its drugs for diabetes, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Its shares rose nearly 2 percent to $36.40.

Robust earnings, ample liquidity from the Federal Reserve, and the prospect of ultra-low interest rates for the rest of the year have driven stocks recently, pushing the Nasdaq to a 10-year high and the S&P 500 up over 8 percent this year.

"There is a big bias towards the market going up and we've seen this through good news and what we would consider bad news. The market kind of shrugs it all off and keeps marching higher," said Kim Caughey Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

"I don't really understand what's driving it but I guess you have to go with it," she said.

Both the Dow industrials and the Nasdaq are set for their best month since December.

With an economy that grew less rapidly than hoped in the first quarter, investors will look to regional manufacturing data later Friday that could show an easing of activity.

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Chevron Corp <CVX.N> is also scheduled to report results, with analysts expecting the second-largest U.S. oil company to show earnings per share of $3, against $2.36 a year ago.

The dollar held near a three-year low against a basket of currencies and was on track for its biggest weekly fall since mid-January, with more losses possible due to end-of-the-month demand to sell dollars.

Fort Pitt's Caughey Forrest said the weak dollar was pushing up commodity prices and increasing costs for companies and could ultimately hit the consumer and be a negative for the economy.

"There is no real mechanism for wages to start rising, so people are going to have to stop consuming if things get too expensive and that's not good for the economy," she said.

In other company news, Nasdaq OMX <NDAQ.O> and IntercontinentalExchange <ICE.N> were poised to go hostile in their bid for NYSE Euronext <NYX.N>, sources said. [ID:nLDE73R15U] (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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