By STEPHEN BERNARD, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK – Upbeat earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Intel and CSX helped push stock futures higher Wednesday.

With earnings releases picking up, traders turned their attention from the Federal Reserve’s likely move to stimulate the economy to whether companies can continue to grow even if the recovery is sluggish.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the first big bank to report third-quarter results, said its profit jumped 23 percent as it was able to cut down on the amount of money it sets aside to cover loan losses. CEO Jamie Dimon said loan losses remain high as customers struggle to repay debt, but he also said defaults on credit cards are likely to fall next quarter.

Chipmaker Intel Corp. beat forecasts on both income and revenue. More importantly, Intel’s results allayed concerns that the personal computer sector would struggle during the second half of the year. Intel had warned about a slowdown in sales in August. Its fourth-quarter revenue projections were in line with analysts’ expectations during the vital holiday shopping season.

Results at railroad operator CSX Corp. also topped forecasts, an encouraging sign that at least parts of the economy are growing.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 71, or 0.7 percent, to 11,028. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 8.40, or 0.7 percent, to 1,172.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 14.75, or 0.7 percent, to 2,051.75.

JPMorgan Chase shares rose 50 cents to $40.90 in pre-opening trading. Intel shares rose 28 cents to $20.05. CSX shares jumped $2.73, or 4.8 percent, to $59.99.

With traders moving into stocks, bond prices dipped and interest rates rose slightly. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.45 percent from 2.43 percent late Tuesday.

Bond prices have been rising in recent weeks as expectations mount that the Federal Reserve will start buying Treasurys and take other measures to encourage lending.

In an odd twist, stocks have also benefited from the expected move by the Fed because they become more attractive investments over a longer period if bond yields continue to fall.

The Dow is up 2.2 percent in October and has jumped 10 percent since the beginning of September.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.2 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 1.5 percent, and France’s CAC-40 gained 1.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent.

 

Source: Associated Press