U.S. stock-index futures advance before reports on jobs, growth
U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will trim the biggest monthly drop since September, as investors awaited reports on jobs and economic growth.
Zumiez Inc. advanced 2.5 percent in late trading after it said sales in May beat estimates. TiVo Inc., the digital video recorder pioneer, fell 1.8 percent after reporting a first- quarter loss.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June rose 0.5 percent to 1,315.7 at 10:42 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has lost 6.1 percent this month as some economic reports missed estimates and Greece tottered on the brink of an exit from the euro currency union. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 63 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,444 today.
“The market is very cautious on taking on risk,” said Daniel Weston, a portfolio adviser at Schroeder Equities GmbH in Munich. “Today's job numbers may provide a clearer view of the U.S. economic picture for investors to assess.”
The S&P 500 slid 1.4 percent yesterday after a measure of pending home resales in April unexpectedly dropped and concern grew that the euro-area debt crisis is deepening.
U.S. private employment probably increased by 150,000 workers last month, economists said in Bloomberg News survey ahead of a report which will be published at 8:15 a.m. in New York. Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Employer Services said last month 119,000 jobs were added in April, the smallest gain in seven months.
Initial Jobless Claims
U.S. Labor Department figures will probably show new applicants for unemployment benefits were unchanged at 370,000 last week from the previous week, according to the mean estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The U.S. economy expanded an annualized 1.9 percent in the first quarter,according to a Bloomberg survey of 77 economists. A preliminary estimate released last month showed 2.2 percent growth.
The Irish vote on the European Union's latest treaty today, with polls indicating they will endorse measures designed to ease the euro region's debt crisis. Opinion polls indicate that supporters of the Fiscal Stability Treaty lead by about 18 percentage points.
Zumiez rose 2.5 percent to $35.63 in late trading in New York. The specialty retailer said comparable store sales in May rose 13.7 percent compared to estimates of 6.9 percent.
TiVo Inc. fell 1.8 percent to $8.80. The company reported a first-quarter loss as hardware costs rose, and said legal expenses in the current period would lead to a wider loss than analysts expected.
Litigation and marketing costs will rise this quarter, Alviso, California-based TiVo said yesterday. The company forecast a second-quarter net loss of $28 million to $30 million, almost double the $15.8 million loss, the average of eight analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.