U.S. Index Futures Little Changed With S&P 500, Dow at Records

By Sofia Horta e Costa

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities climbed to records, as investors weighed prospects for economic growth before data on employment.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 expiring this month added 0.1 percent to 2,075.1 at 10:54 a.m. in London. The gauge rose 0.4 percent yesterday, led by a rally in industrial and commodity shares, as data increased confidence in the economy. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts gained 25 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,922 today.
“U.S. indexes at all-time highs give confidence to investors across the world,” said Ramiro Loureiro, a Lisbon-based market analyst at Banco Comercial Portugues SA’s Millennium unit. “The Fed believes the world’s largest economy is going to continue on
the path of expansion at a time when lower oil prices can support an increase in consumer spending. The issue on the table now is when, and at what pace, interest rates will rise.”
The S&P 500 (SPX) has climbed for six Decembers in a row, posting an average return of 2.2 percent. The gauge has rebounded 11 percent from a low in October on speculation that the economy is strong enough to withstand a slowdown overseas and tighter monetary policy after the Federal Reserve wound up its asset-purchase program.
Investors are watching economic reports to help gauge the pace of the recovery. Labor Department data at 8:30 a.m. in Washington will probably show fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, economists predicted. A release tomorrow may show employers added more than 200,000 jobs in November for the tenth straight month, while the unemployment rate held at the lowest level since July 2008.

ECB Stimulus

In Europe, investors will be looking for clues from the European Central Bank on the possibility of expanding asset purchases to include government bonds. Stimulus measures from the ECB, as well as support from central banks in Japan and China, could add enough liquidity to fill some of the gap left by the Fed. ECB President Mario Draghi speaks to the press from 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt.
Among stocks moving on corporate news, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. rallied 17 percent after the close of regular New York trading yesterday. NextEra Energy Inc. agreed to buy the utility in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $4.3 billion including debt, according to a joint statement.
Array BioPharma Inc. jumped 27 percent in European trading after saying it will regain all rights to cancer drug binimetinib from Novartis AG, as well as an upfront payment of as much as $85 million. Avago Technologies Ltd. rose 5.9 percent after reporting better-than-estimated fourth-quarter profit and sales, and increasing its forecast for the first quarter.
Verint Systems Inc. slipped 1.8 percent after narrowing its annual sales prediction. PVH Corp., which owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger clothing brands, dropped 1.8 percent after cutting its full-year profit and revenue estimates.