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By Arjun Panchadar
(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Tuesday as investors assessed a mixed batch of earnings reports, including from Google parent Alphabet and big drugmakers Merck and Pfizer .
The benchmark S&P 500 closed at a record high on Monday, while the Nasdaq ended the session less than 5 points below its closing high in July on hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal and a widely expected interest rate cut.
Merck & Co Inc (N:) rose 1.9% in premarket trading after it beat quarterly profit estimates, while Pfizer Inc (N:) gained 2.9% as it raised its 2019 earnings forecast.
Shares of Alphabet Inc (O:), however, dropped 1.5% as the web search leader’s quarterly profit missed estimates due to higher costs.
Other marquee names reporting this week include tech heavyweights Apple Inc (O:) and Facebook Inc (O:) as well as oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp (N:) and Chevron Corp (N:).
Third-quarter earnings of S&P 500 companies have largely been better than expected, with over 78% of the 204 companies that have reported so far surpassing profit expectations, according to Refinitiv data.
Investors will keep a close watch on the two-day Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point for the third time this year. The Fed will announce its policy decision on Wednesday.
At 7:14 a.m. ET, were down 56 points, or 0.21%. S&P 500 e-minis were down 3.75 points, or 0.12% and were down 5.25 points, or 0.06%.
Beyond Meat Inc (O:) dropped 15.5% as the vegan burger maker said it would need to offer more store discounts amid rising competition, overshadowing its first ever quarterly net profit and full-year sales forecast raise.
Shares of GrubHub Inc (N:) plunged 35% after the online food delivery company warned of slowing growth as customers opted to choose from a growing pool of rival providers to get better deals.
On the economic front, data at 10:00 a.m. ET is expected to show reading on U.S. consumer confidence index rose to 128 in October from 125.1 in September.
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