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BL: U.S. Futures Gain as Investors Say Drop Overdone; Dollar, Treasuries Fall

U.S. Futures Gain as Investors Say Drop Overdone; Dollar Falls

By David Merritt

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose and European equities pared losses as investors said last week’s global decline was overdone. The dollar and Treasuries fell.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied 0.8 percent at 12:20 p.m. in London. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was little changed. The Hang Seng Index, which was closed when U.S. markets slipped the most in three months on Jan. 22, slid 0.6 percent into a correction as its losses since the November high touched 10 percent. The dollar fell against 15 of its 16 most-traded counterparts. Two-year notes led declines in Treasuries, driving their yield up 2 basis points.

“We believe recent market weakness is a buying opportunity,” Credit Suisse Group AG analysts led by Andrew Garthwaite in London wrote in a note. “Both earnings revisions and economic surprises remain positive.”

Ben. S Bernanke will be reappointed Federal Reserve Chairman, according to Mitch McConnell, the senior Senate Republican. Concern that some Democrats might block him helped drive the benchmark stock index to its biggest three-day decline since March. Royal Philips Electronics NV posted profit that beat analysts’ estimates. Of the 62 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings last week, 46 topped the average forecast.

U.S. Rebound

The gain in U.S. futures indicates the S&P 500 may rebound from its biggest three-day decline since March, when the rally began. The index plunged 2.2 percent on Friday when investors were rattled by concern that senators would block Bernanke’s confirmation and by President Barack Obama’s proposal to limit the size of banks.

The S&P 500 still is up more than 60 percent from a 12-year low in March, with a valuation of about 14.2 times the combined operating earnings forecast for its companies this year. More than 130 companies in the benchmark gauge for U.S. equities are scheduled to release results this week. A record nine-quarter earnings slump is projected to have ended in the fourth quarter with a 73 percent increase in S&P 500 profits.

Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oilfield- services provider, said fourth-quarter profit fell 48 percent to 28 cents a share after clients cut spending because of lower demand. Analysts had predicted earnings per share of 27 cents. Apple Inc. reports results after the close of trading today.

The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in more than a year, and may have expanded at a 4.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in four years, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Philips, Ericsson

In the Dow Jones 600, more than three stocks rose for every two that fell. Philips, Europe’s biggest consumer-electronics maker, climbed 5.4 percent in Amsterdam after posting a third straight quarterly profit. Gains were limited as Ericsson, the world’s biggest maker of wireless networks, sank 1.5 percent in Stockholm after reporting a 92 percent plunge in profit.

Greek stocks gained the most in nearly three weeks as demand for the country’s first bond sale of the year eased funding concerns. The benchmark ASE Index rose 2.6 percent, on course for a second day of gains. National Bank of Greece SA, the country’s largest, led the advance, adding 4 percent in Athens. Greek five-year bonds fell, sending the yield up 4 basis points to 5.95 percent. Ten-year notes rose, with the yield dropping 8 basis points to 6.17 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.7 percent as Bank of China Ltd. fell 2.1 percent in Hong Kong and Honda Motor Co., which gets 42 percent of its sales from North America, declined 1.7 percent in Tokyo.

Emerging Markets

Declines in Asian shares drove the MSCI Emerging Markets Index down 0.2 percent, headed for the lowest close in a month. Dubai’s DFM General Index rebounded 2.8 percent after a 5 percent drop yesterday.

The ruble fell to its weakest level against the dollar this year and dropped the most in almost a month versus the euro. The dollar fell most against the Mexican Peso, falling 0.8 percent, as investors sought higher-yielding currencies. The yen declined compared with all of its 16 most-traded counterparts, after people familiar with the matter said Bank of Japan policy makers are prepared to consider expanding an emergency-loan program for banks and increasing purchases of government debt.

The yield on the benchmark two-year U.S. note climbed 2 basis points to 0.81 percent. The Treasury will auction $44 billion of the notes tomorrow, part of a record-tying $118 billion of debt being sold this week.

Copper for delivery in three months rose 0.6 percent to $7,435 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Crude oil added 0.3 percent to $74.75 a barrel in New York trading. Gold for immediate delivery added 0.7 percent to $1,100.70 an ounce.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Merritt in London on [e-mail].

Last Updated: January 25, 2010 07:33 EST