U.S. stock-index futures rise as ECB eases squeeze in bank funds

U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend yesterday’s rally, as the European Central Bank agreed to lend more money than economists forecast to ease funding for euro-area banks.

Research in Motion Ltd. jumped 10 percent in early New York trading after reports said the maker of BlackBerry smartphones may be an acquisition target. Oracle Corp. dropped 9.4 percent after the world’s second-largest software maker reported sales and profit that missed analysts’ estimates.

S&P 500 index futures expiring in March advanced 0.3 percent to 1,239.2 at 7:16 p.m. in New York, trimming an earlier gain of as much as 1.1 percent. The benchmark gauge gained 3 percent yesterday as better-than-estimated housing starts added to a string of upbeat economic data from the world’s largest economy. The contract on the Dow Jones industrial average expiring the same month added 38 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,069 today.

“ECB liquidity provides some of the massive refinancing banks face next year,” said Witold Bahrke, a senior strategist at PFA Pension A/S, which manages $45 billion in Copenhagen. “It clarifies the outlook for financials a bit further down the road.”

The Frankfurt-based ECB awarded 489 billion euros ($645 billion) in 1,134-day loans, more than economists’ median estimate of 293 billion euros in a Bloomberg News survey. The ECB said 523 banks asked for the funds, which will be lent at the average of its benchmark rate — currently 1 percent — over the period of the loans. The ECB also lent banks $33 billion for 14 days in a regular dollar offering, up from $5.1 billion a week ago.