9:45AM Market opened higher, boosted by falling oil prices.
Stocks posted gains at opening, as Procter & Gamble Co. reported stronger-than-expected results and oil prices further declined amid easing political tensions. Light, sweet crude fell 56 cents to $57.80 a barrel in electronic trading. The price decrease contributed to significant strength in the oil-sensitive airline sector. While some strength also emerged among networking and biotechnology stocks, the health insurance sector further weakened after coming under pressure in the previous session.

Procter & Gamble (PG: chart) was down 1.8% after the world's largest consumer-products company said that Q1 income rose 33%, helped by strong sales and volume gains and the addition of Gillette. However, organic sales, a closely watched measure, rose a much smaller 6%. The Dow component raised its full-year earnings forecast to $2.97 to $3.02 a share, up from $2.96 to $3 a share. In other earnings news, Eastman Kodak Co. (EK: chart) posted a loss of $37 million, or 13 cents a share in Q3, citing $202 million in restructuring costs. The stock rose 5.7%. Insurance giant MetLife (MET: chart) fell 1.7%, despite reporting 34% profit increase in Q3, with earnings above estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 11 points at 12,096. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 7 points to 2,370 while the S&P 500 Index was up 1 point at 1,378.


9;30AM The FTSE 100 in London is steady Tuesday afternoon on earnings.
The FTSE 100 in London is 0.26% higher at 6,143 in the afternoon on Tuesday.

Advancers

Friends Provident rose as much as 6%, leading advancers in the index after it topped forecasts with a 40% rise in third-quarter life insurance and pensions sales. The insurer said it aimed to triple the value of sales by 2008.

Insurer Aviva ticked up 0.4% after Deutsche Bank lifted its target price on the stock. Pharmaceuticals were in demand, with Shire bouncing from losses on Monday to gain 3.5%. Brokerages upgraded the drug maker and it announced the start of a new drug trial.

Miners were mixed, with Antofagasta adding 0.8% and Kazakhmys rising 0.5% on higher third-quarter production levels, but others lower as base metal prices broadly softened.

Housebuilder Persimmon announced trading continues to match company expectations, but warned the market remained competitive. Persimmon gained 0.53%.

Decliners

Tobacco was a declining sector, with Imperial Tobacco down 0.4% after saying it was seeking acquisitions but there was not much on the horizon as it posted an in-line rise in annual earnings.

British American Tobacco fell 0.7% but Gallaher Group bucked the downtrend, rising 2% as analysts saw it as the most likely takeover target in the sector.

Cairn Energy led the decliners in the FTSE 100, down 2% after a sharp drop in crude oil prices and as analysts continued to pick over the details of its Indian IPO. Cairn Energy and BG are both lower as US crude for delivery in December declined. BG is 1.42% lower.

Cadbury Schweppes lost 0.9% after brokerages lowered their target prices in the wake of cut in its annual profit goal on Monday, which it had admitted last week it would not meet for 2006.

Other news

The Financial Services Authority hopes it can shrink its workforce in the next few years as Britain financial watchdog attempts to shift to regulation based on broad principles rather than enforcing thousands of rules.

A group of 11 leading trade associations has launched a bold move to influence the interpretation of imminent European Union financial markets legislation amid fears UK regulators could take an overly-stringent approach.


9:00AM Stock futures advanced on uplifted outlook by Procter & Gamble.
U.S. stock market futures traded higher Tuesday, reflecting uplifted earnings outlook by Procter & Gamble. Consumer products maker Procter & Gamble Co. (PG: chart) reported higher-than-expected Q1 profit jump of 33% to 79 cents a share, up from 77 cents last year, boosted by 27% revenue increase due to sales from Gillette and improved margins. The company also lifted its full-year earnings outlook on a better commodity and energy cost forecast. MetLife (MET: chart) is expected to trade actively after the insurer reported a 34% profit rise and said it would restart a share buyback program.

Eastman Kodak Co. (EK: chart) posted a loss of $37 million, or 13 cents a share in Q3, citing $202 million in restructuring costs. This was the eighth quarterly loss in a row, but compared with a year-ago loss of $914 million, or $3.18 a share, when it took a $778 million tax, a significant improvement has been achieved. Sales fell 10% to $3.204 billion. Excluding one-time items, Kodak earned 44 cents a share, missing expectations of earnings of 19 cents a share on sales of $3.285 billion.