U.S. Stock Futures Fall; Baker Hughes, Freeport-McMoRan Drop

By Daniela Silberstein

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may retreat from a seven-month high, as commodity producers slid with oil and metals.

Baker Hughes Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. dropped more than 1.7 percent as crude, copper and lead decreased. National Semiconductor Corp. slipped 2.8 percent as Chief Executive Officer Brian Halla said the computer-chip market shows no signs of rebounding yet.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in September dropped 0.4 percent to 934.9 at 12:44 p.m. in London, indicating the measure may trim its fourth straight weekly advance. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.3 percent to 8,676 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures slipped 0.3 percent to 1,487.

Shares in Asia climbed for a third day, while European equities dropped.

“The upward potential is limited but it’s not looking bad,” said Rudolf Buxtorf, who manages about $114 million at RBS Coutts Bank in Zurich. “A bit of a decline would be deserved after the recent rally.”

U.S. stocks rose yesterday, sending the S&P 500 to a seven- month high, as a drop in Treasury yields eased concern higher borrowing costs will stifle an economic recovery and a rally in oil lifted energy shares.

The S&P 500 has rebounded 40 percent from its 12-year low in March after the government and Federal Reserve pledged $12.8 trillion to end the first global recession since World War II. The index trades at about 14.9 times the earnings of its companies, near the seven-month high of 15.2 reached in May and below the 19.9 average over the last decade.

Economy Watch

Consumer confidence probably rose for a fourth straight month on signs the worst recession in at least five decades may end this year, economists said before a report today.

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment probably climbed to 69.5 percent in June, the highest reading since September, according to economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The report is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Washington.

A Labor Department report scheduled for 8:30 a.m. may show import prices rose 1.4 percent in May, following a 1.6 percent gain in April, as oil prices increased, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Baker Hughes, the world’s third-largest oilfield-services provider, lost 1.7 percent to $41.62. Schlumberger Ltd., the biggest, declined 1.4 percent to $61.32. Crude oil retreated for the first time in four days as a record plunge in European industrial production prompted speculation that hopes for an economic recovery are premature.

Freeport, National Semiconductor

Freeport-McMoRan, the largest publicly traded copper producer, slipped 1.9 percent to $59.30. Copper dropped in New York and London and aluminum also declined as the dollar advanced and investors sold commodities after recent gains.

National Semiconductor, which supplies the top five mobile- phone manufacturers, fell 2.8 percent to $14.07.

“I don’t think anyone in this industry is positive enough to say that we’ve recovered,” Halla said.

BlackRock Inc. climbed 1.5 percent to $185.49 in Germany after agreeing to buy Barclays Plc’s investment unit for $13.5 billion to create a company overseeing $2.7 trillion in assets, more than the Federal Reserve.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniela Silberstein in Zurich at dsilberstei2@bloomberg.net.