US stock futures rise before economic data

U.S. stock-index futures advanced, following the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s biggest monthly gain since January, as investors awaited data on manufacturing and jobless claims.

S&P 500 futures expiring in September rose 0.7% to 1,692.7 at 10:37 a.m. in London. The benchmark index for U.S. shares slipped less than 0.1% yesterday as the Federal Reserve said persistently low inflation could hurt the economy and promised to keep buying $85 billion in bonds every month. Future contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 102 points, or 0.7%, to 15,535 today.

“This continues to be a bullish scenario for equities, with a Fed that will remain accommodative until growth improves,” Joanna Shatney, head of U.S. large-cap equities at Schroders Plc in New York, wrote in a report today cited by Bloomberg. “While the market is at all-time highs, GDP and corporate-profit levels are at all-time highs as well. The U.S. market remains undervalued, particularly relative to bonds.” he added.

According to analysts The Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. manufacturing index most likely advanced to 52 last month from 50.9 in June. The data is due for release at 3 p.m. London time. A separate report may show initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 345,000 last week from 343,000 in the previous period, economists predicted.

Today 41 companies in the S&P 500 are due to report results, including Procter & Gamble Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp. Of the 342 companies in the gauge to have already reported quarterly results, 73% have exceeded analysts’ profit estimates and 57% have beaten sales projections, which explains why this time period is called “earning season”.

In corporate news, DreamWorks added 7% to $24.49 in late trading in New York yesterday. The independent film studio run by Jeffrey Katzenberg reported a 75% jump in second-quarter profit, driven by the hit movie “The Croods.”

CBS Corp. soared 1.4% to $53.60 in early trading in New York. The owner of the most watched TV network said second-quarter profit rose 11%, triggered by higher rates from pay-TV systems and new Internet streaming agreements.

Yelp is up 8.9% to $45.50. The company, whose website compiles consumer-business reviews, said second-quarter sales rose by 69% to $55 million.

Procter & Gamble Co posted a nearly 50% drop in net income, its first results since bringing veteran Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley back in May to run the worlds largest household products maker. P&G earned $1.88 billion, or 64 cents per share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, down from $3.63 billion, or $1.24 per share, a year earlier.