Stock-Index Futures Rise as Apple Reports Its Earnings

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December added 0.5 percent at 12:48 p.m. in London and Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.2 percent. Gains were limited as Qatar Holding LLC said it would sell more than 379 million shares of Barclays Plc, the U.K.’s second-biggest bank.

"A number of earnings reports, especially from technology companies, came in better than expected," said Michel van der Stee, a Den Bosch, Netherlands-based strategist at Van Lanschot Bankiers NV, which oversees about $35 billion. “We had anticipated a considerable recovery of profits as the underlying economy improved ," Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, Tokyo shares advanced Tuesday as enthusiasm for technology shares such as Tokyo Electron and Kyocera was stoked by encouraging business results from U.S. computer maker Apple and a better than expected outlook from Texas Instruments.

"Tokyo market gains will likely be sustained through the week on bullish signs from U.S. corporate earnings," said Shinichiro Matsushita, market analyst at Daiwa Securities.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 100.33 points, or 1.0%, to 10,336.84, its highest closing level since Sept. 24. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues rose 7.65 points, or 0.8%, to 913.45.

December Nikkei 225 futures ended up 80 points, or 0.8%, at 10,330 on the Osaka Securities Exchange.