Futures point to higher start on Wall Street

Wed, Feb 11 2009, 10:33 GMT
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* Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 0.3-0.4 percent at 1004 GMT, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street on Wednesday.

* At 1500 GMT U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner testifies before the Senate Budget Committee hearing on "Policies to Address the Crises in Financial and Housing Markets".

* The U.S. House Financial Services Committee Tarp hearing begins at 1500 GMT.

* At 1900 GMT the Treasury Department issues its monthly budget for January. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a $78.0 billion deficit compared with a January 2008 budget surplus of $17.84 billion.

* At 1300 GMT the Mortgage Bankers Association releases its Weekly Mortgage Market Index for the week ended Feb. 6.

* Marsh & McLennan, the largest global insurance brokerage after Aon, is expected to post an increase in fourth-quarter profit, compared with a year ago when the firm took a restructuring charge.

* Coca-Cola Enterprises reports quarterly results. Investors will be keen to see if the bottler updates 2009 forecasts which call for earnings per share to rise at a mid-single-digit rate excluding currency fluctuations.

* American International Group is in advanced talks to sell its U.S. auto insurance unit to Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services, a source familiar with the matter said.

* Reynolds American results statement will be watched for comments on the health of the U.S. smokeless tobacco market, now that top rival UST has been acquired by Altria.

* Video game software maker Activision Blizzard reports for the holiday quarter. Wall Street analysts expect the maker of "Guitar Hero" to fare far better than rivals like Electronic Arts and THQ, thanks to a strong roster of hit game.

* Chipotle Mexican Grill reports fourth-quarter results. The company posted its first net income decline in October and recently lowered its 2009 sales view.

* Other companies to report results include security and climate control systems maker Ingersoll-Rand, mining and construction equipment group Terex, and fertilizer Agrium.

* U.S. stocks tumbled more than 4 percent on Tuesday as investors pummelled bank shares on concerns a reworked plan to shore up the financial sector may not be enough to thaw credit markets and alleviate the deepening recession.

* The Dow Jones industrial average was down 4.6 percent, the S&P 500 index was 4.9 percent lower and the Nasdaq Composite index was down 4.2 percent.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson, editing by Dan Lalor) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS US EUROPE

(joanne.frearson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2773, Reuters Messaging:joanne.frearson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

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