U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; EBay, Citigroup, Alcoa Climb

By Daniela Silberstein

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will resume its rally, as EBay Inc. reported profit and sales that beat analysts’ estimates and investors speculated a report may show home resales increased.

EBay, owner of the most visited U.S. e-commerce Web site, advanced 3.9 percent in pre-market trading New York after its forecast also topped projections. Citigroup Inc. added 1.1 percent before the National Association of Realtors report. Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, climbed with metal prices.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September rose 0.3 percent to 952.60 at 11:18 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.3 percent to 8,860. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 0.3 percent to 1,561.75.

Stocks declined yesterday, with the S&P 500 slipping from an eight-month high, as energy producers dropped on lower oil prices and banks slid following an increase in bad loans at Wells Fargo & Co. The benchmark index for U.S. equities has still rallied 8.5 percent since July 10 as companies from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Intel Corp. reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.

“So far we’ve had a fly in the ointment here and there but the overall trend in earnings is encouraging,” said Thomas Schudel, a fund manager at Clariden Leu in Zurich, which oversees about $88 billion. “Today’s housing data will be watched. If house prices stabilize, that will be positive for retail and consumer banking. Leading indicators are pointing to a recovery.”

Earnings Analysis

Per-share earnings beat analysts’ projections by an average of 11 percent for the 114 companies in the S&P 500 that reported quarterly results since July 8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts forecast profits fell an average 33 percent in the second quarter and will decrease 20 percent from July through September, according to Bloomberg data.

More than 60 companies, or about 12 percent of the S&P 500, are scheduled to report earnings today.

EBay climbed 5.6 percent to $20.54 in New York as the company forecast revenue in the next three months will be $2.05 billion to $2.15 billion. Analysts had estimated $2 billion.

Citigroup, grappling with consumer-loan delinquencies that contributed to a $2.4 billion operating loss last quarter, added 1.1 percent to $2.83.

Home resales in the U.S. probably rose in June for a third consecutive month, spurred by tax incentives, lower borrowing costs and foreclosure-driven declines in prices, economists said before a report by the National Association of Realtors due at 10 a.m. in Washington.

Alcoa, Freeport

At 8:30 a.m., figures from the Labor Department may show first-time applications for jobless benefits rose by 33,000 to 555,000 in the week ended July 18, economists forecast. The number of workers filing claims dropped by 95,000 over the previous two weeks, reflecting changes in the timing of mid-year auto shutdowns to retool for the new model year.

Alcoa gained 1.1 percent to $10.31 in Europe. Industrial metals climbed on speculation that China is leading a global economic recovery. Aluminum advanced for an eighth day, the longest winning streak in four months.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., the world’s biggest publicly traded copper producer, increased 1.2 percent to $59.50 in early New York trading. Copper in Shanghai climbed to the highest in more than nine months.

Barrick Gold Corp. advanced 1.4 percent to 35.43 as gold rallied to a six-week high in London.

Qualcomm Forecast

Qualcomm Inc. sank 5.8 percent to $45.66 in German trading as the company forecast fourth-quarter sales that fell short of some analysts’ estimates, raising concern that handset demand is still slowing. Separately, South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it plans to fine the world’s biggest maker of mobile-phone chips a record 260 billion won ($208 million) for anti- competitive practices.

CIT Group Inc. slipped 2.3 percent to 85 cents. Advisers to bondholders that rescued CIT with a $3 billion loan said creditors should push the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a debt swap next month, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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