U.S. Stock Futures Advance as Durable-Goods Orders Climb

By Sarah Jones & Sarah Pringle 

U.S. stock futures rose, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rebound from yesterday’s decline, as government data showed orders for durable goods climbed more than forecast in February.

S&P 500 (SPX) futures expiring in June added 0.2 percent to 1,550.2 at 8:34 a.m. in New York after the equity benchmark fell 0.3 percent yesterday. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,414. Equities initially rallied yesterday, sending the S&P 500 to within a point of its record set in October 2007, as Cyprus obtained a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout from the euro area after agreeing to shrink its banking system. Stocks then dropped amid concern that the rescue package will become a template for future rescues of debt-stricken European countries.

U.S. bookings for goods meant to last at least three years rose 5.7 percent, the most since September, after a 3.8 percent drop the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 3.9 percent advance. Orders were propelled by automobiles and a rebound in commercial aircraft.

House Prices

Separate releases may show the residential-housing market continued to improve. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property prices in 20 cities, due at 9 a.m. New York time, rose 7.9 percent in the 12 months ended January, its biggest gain since June 2006, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

At 10 a.m., the Commerce Department will report that new houses sold at a 420,000 annual pace last month after a 437,000 rate in January, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That would be the best back-to-back performance in four years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net

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