US STOCKS-Wall Street set to open higher after robust Coca-Cola, United Tech earnings

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* Coca-Cola up after raising 2019 forecast
* United Tech gains on quarterly profit beat
* Trump, U.S. Congress leaders reach deal on debt limit
* Futures up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.39%, Nasdaq 0.48%

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By Amy Caren Daniel
July 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on
Tuesday lifted by upbeat earnings from blue-chip companies
including Coca-Cola and United Technologies, that soothed
concerns over the pace of economic growth.
Over the last 24 hours investors have reacted positively to
a series of second-quarter reports, albeit often against
expectations for profits, which have been lowered due to this
year's concerns over growth.
"Analysts notoriously underestimate how well these companies
will do, and part of it is that companies intentionally lowball
the analysts so that they can beat their estimates," said Randy
Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles
Schwab in Austin, Texas.
Coca-Cola Co KO.N shares rose 3.5% after the fizzy drink
maker beat quarterly earnings expectations and raised its full
year organic revenue forecast. Fellow Dow component United Technologies Corp UTX.N gained
2.4% after the industrial conglomerate raised its full-year
profit and sales outlook, helped by an increase in demand for
aircraft parts and spares. President Donald Trump and U.S. congressional leaders
reached a deal on Monday on a two-year extension of the debt
limit and federal spending caps that would avert a feared
government default later this year, but add to rising budget
deficits. "I think it is a very positive thing that they have reached
a budget deal. That pushes concerns of a debt ceiling and the
budget beyond the next presidential election, which is one less
thing for the market to worry about," Frederick said.
The overall profits of S&P companies are now estimated to
rise about 1% in the second quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES
data, improving from estimates of a small decline earlier.
Of the S&P 500 companies, 30% are expected to report
earnings this week and among the investor favorite FAANG group -
Facebook Inc FB.O Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Google-parent
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O will report on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hopes that the Federal Reserve will adopt a looser monetary
policy to counter the impact of a protracted trade war have
helped Wall Street's main indexes scale new record levels. The
S&P 500 is now just 1% shy of its all-time high.
At 8:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 107 points, or
0.39%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 11.75 points, or 0.39%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 38.25 points, or 0.48%.
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates
on Thursday by 10 basis points and the Fed, which will meet a
few days later, is widely expected to lower rates by at least 25
basis points.
Travelers Cos Inc TRV.N was down 1.5% after the insurer
missed estimates for second-quarter profit, as weather-related
losses led to an 18% drop in underwriting gain. Hasbro Inc HAS.O jumped 6.2% after the toymaker reported
better-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by higher demand
for action toys. Intel Corp INTC.O gained 1.2% after a report that Apple
Inc AAPL.O is in advanced talks to buy its smartphone-modem
chip business. The iPhone maker's shares rose 0.7%.