Futures Slip as Bank of America, Honeywell, Big Techs Report

Stock futures slipped on Tuesday ahead of more congressional testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke’s testimony on Tuesday helped lift stocks as the Fed chairman sounded particularly gloomy about the economy — as the Fed’s forecast gets worse, the chances of QE3 get better.

European stocks were higher, boosted in part by earnings from some banks. Credit Suisse (CS) rose 2.6% on surprisingly strong results.

Dow futures fell 41 points; S&P 500 futures fell 4.8 points.

Earnings are flooding in from virtually every sector. Bank of America (BAC) beat EPS expectations as the bank’s credit quality improved, allowing it to release more loan loss provisions. Shares were rising 0.4% in pre-market action.

Honeywell (HON) rose 3.1% after beating EPS estimates by three cents with revenue slightly below expectations. It also raised the lower end of its full-year guidance, citing continuing margin expansion.

US Bancorp (USB) slipped 0.4% after beating earnings and revenue expectations.

Bank of NY (BK) fell 2.4% as second quarter profits fell on litigation charges and low rates hurt revenue.

Abbott Labs (ABT) fell 0.4% after beating core earnings expectations. Restructuring costs have been hurting the company’s results as it splits into two companies.

Intel (INTC) dropped 0.7% after issuing disappointing revenue guidance as global economic weakness is cutting into PC demand.

Yahoo (YHOO) rose 0.2% after beating EPS expectations by 4 cents despite a slight revenue miss.

Vivus (VVUS) jumped 17% after the FDA approved its diet pill Qsymia. Rival diet pill drug maker Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) fell 8.7% on the news.

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) fell 1.8% after cutting its full-year forecast and said it is exploring options, for its hardware and home improvement business. That could include a sale.

St. Jude Medical (STJ) fell 4.2% after it beat EPS expectations by a penny on revenue that missed expectations, slipping to $1.41 billion. The company says it is on track to accelerate growth.

– with reporting from Johanna Bennett