Como se combate o populismo? "Com eleições", responde Fukuyama

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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance After Iraq's National Election
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose after as many as 8 million Iraqis defied deadly attacks and threats of violence by insurgents to take part in Iraq's first democratic election since 1953.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March advanced 0.4 percent to 1179.40 as of 9:28 a.m. in Tokyo. Nasdaq- 100 Index futures jumped 0.6 percent to 1519.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures haven't begun trading yet.

``The fact that the Iraq election went smoothly is restoring confidence among investors that the `big event' risk is out of the way,'' said Hiroaki Kuramochi, managing director and head of equity sales at Bear Stearns (Japan) Ltd. in Tokyo. ``That seems to be prompting some buying in U.S. futures.''

In Washington, President George W. Bush said the election was a ``resounding success'' and ``the world is hearing the voice of freedom'' from the Middle East. The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq said turnout was about 60 percent, down from an earlier estimate of 72 percent. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's main ally in Iraq, later praised the courage of Iraqi voters.

``We started to see some buying in U.S. futures after hearing about Bush's speech,'' said Koichi Seki, an equity manager at Chuo Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``There are some expectations that with one event risk out of the way, there will be some buybacks.''

Last week, U.S. stock indexes had their first weekly advance this year, as companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Texas Instruments Inc. reported earnings that exceeded analysts' estimates. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.3 percent to 1171.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3 percent to 10,427.20, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to 2035.83.



To contact the reporter on this story:
Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Ben Richardson at brichardson8@bloomberg.net