Wall Street set for flat open after four-day run

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were poised to open little changed on Wednesday, after a four-day rally left the S&P 500 within striking distance of a fresh record high.

The benchmark S&P index has risen 3.9 percent over the past four sessions, its longest winning streak of the year and best four-day performance in thirteen months. The index now stands 1.6 percent below its record closing high of 1,848.38 set on January 15.

Stocks rose in a broad rally on Tuesday as Congress agreed to advance legislation extending the borrowing authority of the United States and after the Federal Reserve's new chief Janet Yellen made no changes to the central bank's schedule for trimming stimulus.

 

Procter & Gamble Co slipped 0.8 percent to $78.20 in premarket trading after the world's largest household products maker cut its sales and earnings outlook for the year on Tuesday to reflect unfavorable foreign exchange rates in Venezuela and the devaluation of currencies in various developing markets.

Deere & Co gained 1.5 percent to $88.75 before the opening bell the world's largest maker of farm equipment posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.

S&P 500 e-mini futures added 1 point and were about even with 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 rose 9 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 5.5 points.

Owens Corning jumped 10.7 percent to $44 in premarket trade after the composite and building materials company posted its fourth-quarter earnings.

S&P 500 companies scheduled to report earnings after the close on Wednesday include Applied Materials Inc , Metlife Inc , Whole Foods Market Inc and Cisco Systems Inc .

Investors who were shocked by Cisco's dire financial outlook in its last quarterly earnings report are bracing for more bad news when the network equipment maker reports results.

Of 357 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through Tuesday morning, 67.8 percent have beaten profit expectations, above the long-term average of 63 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. Almost 66 percent have topped revenue forecasts, above the historical average of 61 percent.

Ford Motor Co advanced 1.2 percent to $15.14 before the opening bell after the automaker and its Chinese joint ventures reported a 53 percent increase in vehicle sales in China in January.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)