US STOCKS- Positive earnings boost futures after Monday's selloff

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* Futures up: Dow 0.42%, S&P 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.65%

By Medha Singh
Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on
Tuesday, helped by a slate of positive earnings, a day after the
S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials logged their worst session in
two years on worries over the worldwide spread of the virus.
Shares of Dow-member Home Depot Inc HD.N rose 2.5% in
premarket trading after the home improvement chain beat
quarterly sales and profit estimates. Another upbeat report in the retail space was from
department store operator Macy's Inc M.N , which jumped more
than 5% after a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly
same-store sales.
HP Inc HPQ.N gained 4% after the company said it would
step up efforts to slash costs and buy back stock, as it seeks
investor support to defend against a $35 billion takeover offer
from U.S. printer maker Xerox Holdings Corp XRX.N .
The positive fourth-quarter earnings along with hopes of a
limited damage from the outbreak had fueled Wall Street's run to
record highs until last week.
U.S. stock indexes have declined in the past three sessions
with fears of a pandemic knocking off more than 3% on Monday
after a flare up in infections in several countries.
As of Monday's close, the S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow Jones
Industrials .DJI had erased their gains for the year.
At 7:43 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 118 points, or
0.42%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 12 points, or 0.37% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 59 points, or 0.65%.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX , an options-based gauge of
investor anxiety, was down 1.86 points after hitting its highest
level since January 2019 on Monday.
Among other stocks, Perrigo PRGO.K jumped 10.6% after the
drugmaker gained the first U.S. approval for a generic version
of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's TEVA.TA respiratory
drug, ProAir.
Mastercard Inc MA.N shares fell 2.2% after the company
said Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga will step down at the
start of the next year and be replaced by products head Michael
Miebach. Shares of rival Visa Inc V.N dropped 1.3%.

Investors will also keep an eye on the Conference Board's
consumer confidence data for February, scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
ET.