U.S. Stock Futures Gain; Exxon, Newmont, Barrick Gold Advance

By Sarah Jones

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rebound from its biggest drop in a month, as oil’s climb above $72 a barrel lifted the earnings outlook for energy producers.

Exxon Mobil Corp. gained in German trading. Newmont Mining Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp. advanced as gold rose for first time in five days.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September gained 0.3 percent to 921.7 at 12:25 p.m. in London. The gauge slid 2.4 percent yesterday, the biggest slump since May 13. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 0.3 percent before reports on housing and manufacturing that may show the recession is within months of a bottom.

“We have got some important data points today,” said Felix Wintle, head of U.S. equities at Neptune Asset Management in London, where he helps oversee the equivalent of $4.1 billion. “Investors are still looking for signs that the green shoots we have already seen continue to show the slowdown is decelerating.”

Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.6 percent today, as a surge in German investor confidence to the highest in three years overshadowed a slump in banks.

U.S. stocks extended a global slide yesterday as falling oil and metal prices weighed on commodity producers and after a weaker-than-expected report on New York manufacturing. The S&P 500’s 40 percent rebound from a 12-year low on March 9 through last week had left the index valued at 14.9 times its companies’ earnings, near the highest level since October.

Breached 950

Morgan Stanley today said the rally in U.S. stocks “may now be over” after the brokerage raised its end-of-year target for the S&P 500 to 900 from 825, still 2.6 percent below yesterday’s closing price.

“Having breached the 950 level, the rally may now be over,” Morgan Stanley strategists including New York-based Jason Todd wrote in a note to clients.

Data from the Federal Reserve today may show industrial production last month dropped 1 percent, mainly due to auto- industry shutdowns that swamped gains elsewhere, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Other reports may show builders began work on more houses in May and wholesale prices rose.

Exxon, the U.S. oil company, gained 0.3 percent to $73.02 in Germany trading as oil climbed as much as 2.1 percent to $72.12 in New York. The contract last week climbed to a seven- month high as a stronger dollar made commodities less appealing as a currency hedge.

Newmont, the largest U.S. gold producer, added 0.7 percent to $41.89 in Germany as gold climbed in London as the dollar weakened, increasing demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. Barrick Gold advanced 1.6 percent to $32.90 in German trading.

Amgen Inc. increased 1.3 percent to $50.08 after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. upgraded the world’s largest biotechnology company to “outperform” from “market perform,” saying the stock “should benefit from a significant re-acceleration in revenue and earnings growth” over the next year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.