U.S. Stock Futures Rise Before Housing, Industry Reports

U.S. stock futures advanced, indicating that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rebound from a two-day drop, as investors awaited reports that may show housing starts and industrial production increased in March.

Johnson & Johnson rose in German trading as the world’s second-biggest health-care company prepared to announce its first-quarter earnings. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) fell 1.9 percent after reporting financial results.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June gained 0.7 percent to 1,372.8 at 7:32 a.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities has lost 2.8 percent in April after the biggest first-quarter rally since 1998. The contract on the Dow Jones Industrial Average expiring the same month climbed 72 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,922 today.

“The US economy will be more resilient than it was last year, providing some support for US equities,” said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist for fundamental equities at BlackRock Inc., in a note dated April 16. “We are unlikely to see the sort of sharp and severe pullback in stock prices that we witnessed in 2011.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said that an April 6 government report showing employers added 120,000 workers in March, the fewest in five months, underscores the uneven nature of the U.S. expansion.

“Recent labor market data provide an example of the uneven pattern of economic activity,” Pianalto, a voting member on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said yesterday in a speech in Lexington, Kentucky. “Monthly ups and downs like these make it hard to confirm the underlying pace of job creation.”
Housing Starts, Industry

A report at 8:30 a.m. Washington time may show housing starts increased to a 705,000 annual rate last month, according to the median projection in a Bloomberg survey. The pace in February was 698,000.

Another report may show output at factories, mines and utilities increased 0.3 percent after being little changed in February, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rose 0.7 percent to $64.42 in Frankfurt trading. Seventeen companies on the S&P 500 report their earnings today.

Goldman Sachs fell 1.9 percent to $115.45 in pre-market trading in New York after announcing first-quarter financial results. The investment bank posted an earnings per share of $3.92 beating analysts’ estimates for $3.55. Revenue, too, surpassed projections and Goldman boosted its quarterly dividend to 46 cents from 35 cents.

First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the biggest maker of thin-film solar panels, declined 1.7 percent to $20.47 in early New York trading after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to neutral, the equivalent of hold, from buy.