New York, NY, Mar. 23--Corporate America provided Wall Street with another batch of sunny earnings outlooks last week, led by forecasts from larger companies.
In the week ended March 19, the ratio of all U.S. companies that raised their outlooks versus those that lowered their forecasts was 1.85, the Reuters data showed.
So far in March, of the 461 companies providing outlooks, 25 percent have hiked forecasts and 15 percent have lowered forecasts, for a positive-to negative ratio of 1.67.
In January, the ratio was 1.53, and in February it was 1.25.
The ratio of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index of the bigger companies raising profit outlooks compared with those lowering them stands at 2.78 so far in March -- the highest level since April 2002, according to data from Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
"We are finding that the S&P 500 is performing better than the rest of the market in terms of pre-announcements," said Ashwani Kaul, senior market analyst with Reuters Research. "They are citing increased demand, improved economic conditions and strong backlog. These companies are the leaders in the market."
In terms of raising outlooks, companies in the S&P 500 have outperformed all U.S. companies since October 2003, Reuters data showed.
The industrial and technology sector comprised 65 percent of the positive forecast activity last week, Reuters Research said.
Diversified manufacturer 3M Co., widely seen as a bellwether for the economy, last week raised its first-quarter and full-year outlook, citing growth across many of its businesses.
In other examples, design software maker Adobe Systems Inc. on March 18 raised its quarterly profit and revenue forecasts. Tool-maker Stanley Works raised its outlook for the first quarter last week, citing robust demand.
Earnings forecasts -- especially from key companies like 3M -- are closely scrutinized as Wall Street searches for clues on whether the economic recovery is taking hold or losing steam.
