U.S. stock-index futures advance before housing-starts report
U.S. stock-index futures rose before a report that may show builders began work on more homes in November, a sign that the housing market may be stabilizing heading into 2012.
Bank of America Corp. climbed 2.3 percent and Citigroup Inc. advanced 1.7 percent in early New York trading.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March climbed 1 percent to 1,211 at 6:25 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 89 points, or 0.8 percent, to 11,792.
“U.S. equities offer the best risk-reward attractions of all the developed markets,” said Kevin Gardiner, head of global investment strategy at Barclays Wealth in London, which oversees 169.5 billion pounds ($264.8 billion). “Even in the eventuality of a slower-than-expected second-half recovery in the U.S. economy, we expect corporates to continue to demonstrate robust earnings growth.”
The S&P has dropped 4.2 percent this year and the Dow has gained 1.6 percent, compared with a 20 percent decline for the MSCI Asia Pacific Index and a 15 percent tumble for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. The euro area’s sovereign-debt crisis roiled markets as political leaders failed to allay concern that one or more of the 17-nation currency zone will default on its debt.
In the U.S., housing starts increased 1.1 percent to a 10- month high of 635,000 at an annual rate in November, according to the median estimate of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Permits, a proxy for future construction, may have fallen from October’s 19-month high. The Commerce Department will publish the housebuilding report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington.
Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender, rose 2.3 percent to $5.10 in early New York trading. Citigroup climbed 1.7 percent to $25.24.
Red Hat Inc. sank 7.7 percent to $42.50 in German trading after the largest seller of the open-source Linux operating system reported fiscal third-quarter billings and deferred revenue that missed some analysts’ estimates.