Nasdaq 100 index futures advance as Apple jumps on record profit

NEW YORK: Nasdaq 100 Index futures rallied, signaling the equity gauge will rebound from its biggest drop since April, as Apple Inc. posted a record $18 billion in quarterly profit. Shares of the world's largest listed company climbed 7 percent in early New York trading after sales of larger-screen iPhones helped net income jump 38 percent. Yahoo! Inc. rose 8.2 percent after saying it will spin off its remaining stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. AT&T Inc. added 2 percent in Germany after the wireless carrier topped profit and sales projections. Facebook Inc. and Boeing Co. are among 31 companies releasing quarterly results today.

Nasdaq contracts expiring in March added 0.8 percent to 4,212.5 at 6:22 a.m. in New York. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.1 percent, paring earlier gains of as much as 0.8 percent after political turmoil in Greece sent European markets lower. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts lost 24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,354.

"Although corporate results this week have shown us that earnings season no longer runs smoothly everywhere, Apple's record numbers have convinced the market," said Christian Schmidt, an analyst at Helaba Landesbank HessenThueringen in Frankfurt. "Their profit is larger than any company has ever reported. It looks like we are in for a positive start to trading today."

Disappointing results from Caterpillar Inc. and Microsoft Corp. weighed on U.S. equities Tuesday, while the Dow tumbled 1.7 percent after the strongest dollar in a decade hurt profit at Procter & Gamble Co., DuPont Co. and Pfizer Inc.

Of the S&P 500 members that have reported profit so far, 77 percent have exceeded projections that analysts have lowered since late last year. Analysts predict profit at S&P 500 companies climbed 1.1 percent in the final three months of 2014, down from an October estimate of 8.5 percent.

Investors are also awaiting the Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, due at 2 p.m. in Washington. While 2014 was the strongest year of employment growth in 15 years, policy makers have shown concern regarding slower growth overseas. After its December meeting, the Fed said it can be "patient" in starting to raise rates for the first time since 2006.

In Greece, bonds and stocks slumped for a third day as newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepares to confront the nation's creditors. Germany and the Netherlands hardened their rhetoric on Greece, pressing Tsipras to endorse the fiscal tightening that underpins the 240 billioneuro ($273 billion) aid program. A gauge of Greek lenders extended its lowest level since at least 1995.