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Zurich - US stock-index futures were little changed, after equity gains that put the S&P 500 Index on track for a third weekly gain.
PepsiCo gained 2.7% after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat estimates and raising its annual forecast. Accenture advanced 1.4% after its profit and sales projections topped analyst predictions.
S&P 500 contracts expiring in December rose less than 0.1% to 2 162.25 at 7:34 in New York. The benchmark rose 0.5% yesterday, with oil-and-gas shares leading gains, after OPEC members reached a preliminary deal to cut production.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were unchanged at 18 238 today.
The first output-reduction decision by OPEC in eight years surprised traders, who had expected no agreement, and sent energy shares rallying the most in eight months. The S&P 500 closed above its average price during the past 50 days, erasing a monthly drop of as much as 2.1%.
The benchmark is up 0.3% this week, heading for its longest stretch of gains since July.
"There’s a slightly positive underlying trend for US stocks, but without any news it’s going to stay flat," said Otto Waser, chief investment officer of R&A Group Research & Asset Management in Zurich.
"We’re now waiting for the next big moment: the elections, and before that, the earnings season. Oil had an impact on US stocks yesterday. We still need to see the details of the agreement."
Turbulence in equity markets is subsiding, after a surge in early September. The CBOE Volatility Index is down 6.9% this month, erasing an increase that reached 35% two weeks ago.
The Federal Reserve’s decision to leave rates unchanged, and stronger-than-forecast economic releases, has eased investor concern about the US recovery, while gains in crude also helped boost equities.
Investors are awaiting further data to corroborate Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s comments on Wednesday that the current economic course calls for a gradual increase in interest rates.
A revised reading today is forecast to show the US economy grew at a faster pace in the second quarter versus an earlier estimate, while releases on jobless claims and pending home-sales are also due.
Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicks off the next earnings season when it reports results in about two weeks. Analysts forecast a drop of 1.5% in S&P 500 company profits in the third quarter.
Among other stocks moving in the premarket trading, Intra-Cellular Therapies plunged 64% after its lead drug, an experimental pill for treating schizophrenia, failed to help patients in a key late-stage study.
ConAgra Foods added 2% after its quarterly earnings beat projections.
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