U.S. Stock-Index Futures Little Changed Before Reports

By Inyoung Hwang  

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed the most in over a month, as investors awaited data on jobless claims and durable-goods orders.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) climbed 5.9 percent in pre-market New York trading after forecasting quarterly earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates. Apple Inc. retreated 0.7 percent as it pulled an update for the iPhone operating system after the new software caused some people to lose cellular service.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December slipped 0.1 percent to 1,989.2 at 6:27 a.m. in New York. The benchmark equity gauge climbed 0.8 percent yesterday, its biggest gain since Aug. 18, as new-home sales jumped to a six-year high, and
health-care shares rallied with producers of consumer staples. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 17,132 today.
“We still like equities compared to other asset classes but still see some risks,” Christoph Riniker, head of strategy research at Julius Baer Group Ltd. in Zurich, said by telephone. “We see some range bound trading currently, eve more in Europe than in the U.S. The macro picture is slightly in favor of the U.S.”
A report at 8:30 a.m. Washington time may show that first-time applications for jobless benefits increased to 296,000 in the week through Sept. 20 from 280,000 in the prior period, according to economists’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Separate data may show bookings for goods meant to last at least three years slumped 18 percent in August after surging 22.6 percent in July, a Bloomberg survey of economists showed.

Jabil Advances

Jabil rose 5.9 percent to $22.09. The maker of electronics for Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. forecast first-quarter core earnings of 41 cents to 53 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ estimates for 40 cents.
Apple retreated 0.7 percent to $101 after saying in an e-mailed statement that it has devised a workaround for iPhone 6 users who lost voice service or other features after updating their devices. The company said it will release a new version of the operating system in the next few days.
HB Fuller Co. (FUL) slid 5.1 percent to $41.73. The maker of adhesives forecast fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of no more than 70 cents a share, missing the 85-cent analyst estimate.