U.S. Stock-Index Futures Gain; FedEx, Texas Instruments Climb

By Adam Haigh

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose after FedEx Corp. said first-quarter profit will exceed a previous forecast on lower fuel spending and Texas Instruments Inc. maintained its sales outlook.

FedEx, the world's largest air-cargo carrier, climbed 4.1 percent in German trading as the new earnings projection topped analysts' estimates. Texas Instruments added 2.7 percent after the second-biggest U.S. semiconductor maker allayed concern that slower mobile-phone demand would drag down sales further. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. rallied 32 percent, indicating the stock may rebound from a slump that erased almost half of its value.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in September added 10.4, or 0.9 percent, to 1,236.9 at 10:02 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 79 to 11,326. Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 21 to 1,749.75.

``What FedEx is trying to do is match any fluctuation that they can in the fuel prices,'' said David Hart, a senior equity analyst at London-based investment adviser Fat Prophets U.K. Ltd. ``Oil has come off a lot and that has been good for fuel prices for the company.''

Stocks tumbled yesterday as concern about Lehman's ability to raise capital rattled the banking industry and a drop in oil prices pushed energy companies down by the most in six years. The 3.4 percent decline in the S&P 500 threatened to erase the measure's rebound from a 2 1/2-year low on July 15, leaving it with a gain of 0.8 percent.

FedEx, Texas Instruments

FedEx climbed 4.1 percent to $88.20. Earnings will be $1.23 a share for the period ended Aug. 31, eclipsing the outlook of 80 cents to $1, FedEx said yesterday. Analysts expected 95 cents a share, according to the average of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Texas Instruments rose 2.7 percent to $22.29 in Germany. Third-quarter revenue will be between $3.33 billion and $3.47 billion, the Dallas-based company said yesterday. The midpoint, $3.4 billion, matched a previous forecast and the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Lehman rallied 32 percent to $10.33 in Germany. The fourth- largest U.S. securities firm said it will announce third-quarter results and ``key strategic initiatives'' today at 7:30 a.m. in New York, a week earlier than the date scheduled to report earnings. The stock slumped 45 percent yesterday.

The bank has been trying to raise capital and shed devalued real-estate assets that saddled the company with $8.2 billion in writedowns and credit losses in the past year.

Lehman plans to announce it's in talks with BlackRock Inc. to sell a package of mostly British residential real-estate assets, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people it didn't identify.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.