US stock index futures unchanged after Syria hold

U.S. stock-index futures were almost unchanged, following six days of gains for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after President Barack Obama postponed a decision on whether to take military action against Syria and agreed to a political solution.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring this month sank less than 0.1% to 1,681.8 at 10:37 a.m. in London. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 9 points, or 0.1%, to 15,182.

The S&P 500 has advanced 3.1% so far in September as reports showed China’s economy has strengthened, while concern eased that the U.S. will soon bomb Syria. The U.S. equity benchmark climbed to its highest level since Aug. 14 yesterday.

“The downside risk from Syria diminished and that explains the recent rise in risk assets,” Stewart Richardson, who helps oversee about $100 million as chief investment officer at RMG Wealth Management LLP in London said by telephone for Bloomberg. “That was helped by the better-than-expected data in China. Some of the equity markets, especially emerging markets, were probably oversold and enjoyed a bit of a bounce. Some markets are up several days in a row.”

Obama said last night in an address from Washington that he will pursue a proposal by Russia to have Syria surrender its stockpiles of chemical weapons to international authorities.

In corporate news, Disney advanced 0.5% to $63.11 after delaying the fifth film in the “Pirates” series. The movie was being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, whose latest Disney film, “The Lone Ranger,” flopped with audiences this summer. Disney has said it may record a loss of as much as $190 million on “The Lone Ranger” this quarter. The Hollywood Reporter said that the studio delayed the new film because of script issues.

In Europe, Britains unemployment rate exceeded expectations of a steady reading as it dipped to its lowest level since late 2012 in the latest sign its economy is picking up.