U.S. Stock Futures Advance as G-7 Finance Ministers Meet

By Namitha Jagadeesh

U.S. stock futures rose, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend a third week of gains, amid speculation central banks will maintain stimulus measures as Group of Seven finance chiefs meet.

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) rose 1 percent in early New York trading as fiscal first-quarter sales and earnings exceeded projections. Molycorp Inc. (MCP) jumped 6.4 percent after posting a narrower-than-estimated loss. Priceline.com Inc. declined 2 percent as it forecast second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ forecasts.

S&P 500 (SPX) futures expiring in June added 0.1 percent to 1,626.8 at 7:31 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark rallied to a record on five consecutive trading days starting on May 2, and is heading for a weekly gain of 0.8 percent. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Averageincreased 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,077 today.

“We had a very clear statement from the Federal Reserve many months ago that they have an unemployment target and they are keeping an easy monetary policy until the unemployment rategets to 6.5 percent,” Bob Parker, who helps oversee about $400 billion as senior adviser at Credit Suisse Asset Management in London, told Manus Cranny on Bloomberg Television. “Currently, it’s 7.5 percent. The key question is: when do we get to 6.5 percent? My guess is the middle of 2014.”

G-7 finance ministers start a two-day meeting in Aylesbury, north of London, today. They may not release a formal communique, a Canadian Finance Department official said May 8. Central banks worldwide have announced 511 interest-rate cuts since June 2007, according to a Bank of America Corp. tally done before Vietnam and Sri Lanka lowered their policy rates today.

Bernanke Speech

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will deliver a speech on monitoring finance at the Chicago Fed’s annual conference on bank structure and competition. He is due to speak at 9:30 a.m. New York time. The Federal Open Market Committee last week said it will maintain its asset-purchase program until the unemployment rate shows significant improvement.

The U.S. bull market has entered its fifth year. The S&P 500 has surged 140 percent from a 12-year low in 2009, driven by better-than-estimated corporate earnings and three rounds of bond purchases from the Fed.

Nvidia climbed 1 percent to $14.05 after the maker of graphics processors said net income rose to $77.9 million, or 13 cents a share, in the quarter ended April 28. Sales increased 3.2 percent to $954.7 million. Analysts on average had forecast earnings of 10 cents on sales of $940.7 million.

Molycorp Jumps

Molycorp surged 6.4 percent to $5.95 in early New York trading after posting a net loss of 15 cents a share for the first quarter. Analysts had predicted a loss of 30 cents apiece, according to a Bloomberg survey. Revenue of $146.4 million beat the median analyst estimate of $137.3 million.

Priceline dropped 2 percent to $722.65 as the biggest U.S. online-travel agent by market value forecast profit excluding some items in the range of $8.87 to $9.45 a share in the second quarter. Analysts on average had called for a profit of $9.59.

Air Lease Corp. (AL) slid 8.4 percent to $28 in late New York trading after posting first-quarter revenue of $192 million. That trailed the average analyst projection of $196 million.

Sotheby’s (BID) may move after saying its loss doubled in the first quarter as auction profits fell and expenses rose. The New York auctioneer posted a loss of 33 cents a share, wider than the 12 cents forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

To contact the reporter on this story: Namitha Jagadeesh in London atnjagadeesh@bloomberg.net

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