U.S. futures indicated a lower opening Tuesday as European markets were declining, led by the banks. In Asia, Hong Kong's stock exchange halted trading for the day as tropical storm Nida hit the city.
Crude oil prices were on the rise. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil was trading at around $40.57. Brent Crude oil was also up by nearly 2%, trading around $42.90.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) were down slightly in early trading following news that it sold nearly $20 billion of debt to fund its takeover of social professional network LinkedIn (LNKD) according to a Financial Times report. The technology giant issued $19.75 billion of debt with seven maturities, the FT reported. Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn for $26 billion in June.
Meanwhile, Salesforce.com (CRM) shares were on the rise after agreeing to acquire Quip for $582 million in stock. Salesforce will issue stock valued at $73.81 to $90.22 in exchange for outstanding shares of the startup that provides word-processing tools, according to a report by TheStreet. The deal is expected to close in the fiscal third quarter, pending regulatory approval.
Shares of Emerson Electric (EMR) were dropping after missing third-quarter forecasts. The St.Louis-based company reported third-quarter profit of $479 million. Adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share, which was $0.04 below analysts' expectations. Revenue of $5.13 billion for the period also missed estimates of $5.31 billion. Emerson expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.30 to $3 per share.
This comes as Japan's Nidec said it would buy Emerson's motors and electric power generation unit for $1.2 billion as it seeks to expand its industrial and commercial business, The Deal reported. The purchase builds on Nidec's previous acquisition of a separate Emerson motor-related business in 2010.
Emerson will also sell its Network Power division to Platinum Equity and other investors in a deal valued at $4 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Procter & Gamble (PG) shares were up slightly before the bell after reporting better-than-expected quarterly sales. The world's largest consumer-products maker posted fourth-quarter net sales of $16.1 billion, down for the eighth straight quarter, but topped analysts' estimates of $15.83 billion. Sales were driven by strong demand for baby, feminine and home care products. Earnings of $0.79 per share beat Wall Street's expectation of $0.74 per share. PG shares are up nearly 13% year over year. Procter & Gamble is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.
Finally, shares of Honda Motor (HMC) were on the rise as its first-quarter profit exceeded estimates as demand increased in the U.S. and China. The Tokyo-based automaker reported earnings of 174.6 billion yen ($1.7 billion), which surpassed analysts' expectations of 133 billion yen ($1.3 billion). Honda maintained its full-year profit forecast of 390 billion yen. Sales of 3.47 trillion yen also beat forecasts of 3.46 trillion yen.
Honda's quarterly results come as it and other automakers, including Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) will be releasing sales results for July throughout the day.
