US futures inch up after three-week rally

New York - US stock index futures edged higher on Monday, after the Dow and S&P 500 advanced for a third straight week to fresh record highs.

Earnings season begins to wind down this week, with 16 S&P 500 companies expected to report quarterly results, including retailers Wal-Mart and Macy's as well as network equipment maker Cisco Systems.

McDonald's said worldwide sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 0.5% in October, hurt by stiff competition in the United States, economic and political upheaval in Europe and the fallout from a supplier scandal in China.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday, of 442 companies in the S&P 500 to report earnings, 74.2% beat Wall St expectations, well above the 63% beat rate since 1994 and 67% for the past four quarters. Earnings are expected to grow 9.8% over the year-ago period.

The Dow has risen 7.3% while the S&P 500 is up 7.7% over past three weeks, the best three-week performance for both indexes since October 2011.

Alibaba Group shares were up 2.1% to $116.99 in premarket trading ahead of "Singles Day" in China on November 11, which has become the largest day of online sales in the world. Volume of nearly 700 000 shares made the stock the most actively traded among New York Stock Exchange-listed issues.

Gilead Sciences rose 3 percent to $109.60 before the opening bell after data from a midstage study showed Merck's attempt to shorten hepatitis C treatment to just four weeks by adding Gilead's huge selling Sovaldi to its own oral two-drug combination came nowhere near the desired efficacy.

Toll Brothers, the largest US luxury homebuilder, reported a 29% jump in quarterly revenue after it sold more homes at higher prices as housing demand strengthened. Its shares rose 2.4% to $32.99 in light premarket trading.

KKR & Co plans to sell its North Dakota Bakken oil deposit worth less than $500m as part of an ongoing downsizing plan, according to people familiar with the matter.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.12%, with 125 321 contracts changing hands.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 10.25 points, or 0.25%, in volume of 20 479 contracts.

Dow e-minis were up 17 points, or 0.1%, with 20 021 contracts changing hands.