US stock-index futures mixed amid Fed concern, corporate earnings

U.S. stock-index futures stay mixed, predicting the Dow Jones Industrial Average may continue to increase from an all-time high levels while Standard & Poors 500 index would most likely erase recent gains as investors are looking for signs that would give more information about when the Fed intends to cut back stimulus.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December fell 0.2% to 1,764.1 at 11:18 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has surged 24% this year, on course for the biggest gain since 2003. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 22 points, or 0.1%, to 15,745 today. Nasdaq future contracts slid 0.2% to 3,346.50.

“I understand there’s sensitivity, but markets should also bear in mind that this program cannot go on forever,” said Dallas Fed’s Chairman Fisher, for CNBC earlier today. “Our balance sheet has become bloated, and at some point we will have to taper back on the pace of purchases, but that doesnt mean we’ll stop. We’ll have less accommodation”.

Investors are also awaiting the U.S. Senate Banking Committees confirmation hearing for Janet Yellen as the new Federal Reserve chief on Thursday for new clues about when the Federal Reserve could begin to unwind its monetary stimulus.

In corporate news, News Corp. slid 4% in after-hours trading on disappointment over the $2.07 billion revenue figure, which missed a forecast of $2.2 billion. Net income in the fiscal quarter, which ended in September, was $27 million, or 5 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $92 million, or 16 cents per share, a year ago.

T-Mobile US slumped 2.1% to $26.40 in Germany. The fourth-largest mobile-phone carrier in the U.S. plans to sell 66.2 million shares in a secondary offering, raising money that could be used to acquire wireless spectrum.

Sothebys reported a third-quarter loss of 44 cents a share, narrowing from a loss of 48 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose to $107.9 million from $68.5 million. The high-end auction house also said it has been actively engaged in reviewing its capital allocation and financial policies and would announce the results in early 2014. Shares of Sotheby’s were up 1% on Monday in after-trade.

Rackspace reported third-quarter earnings of 11 cents a share, falling short of 15 cents a share forecast by analysts in a Thomson Reuters survey. Shares of the data-center provider slid 2.7% in after hours.