U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance Before Bernanke Speech

U.S. stock-index futures advanced as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke for signs of whether the central bank will pursue a third round of bond purchases.

Splunk Inc. (SPLK) rallied 15 percent in German trading after reporting a narrower-than-estimated fiscal second-quarter loss and raising its full-year sales forecast. Alcoa Inc. (AA) shares gained 1.1 percent.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in September climbed 0.6 percent to 1,405.5 at 7:35 a.m. in New York, indicating the gauge will extend this month’s 1.5 percent increase. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 79 points, or 0.6 percent, to 13,061 today.

Bernanke will deliver his annual speech on monetary policy at the Fed’s symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at 10 a.m. New York time. His address in 2010 preceded a second round of quantitative easing to support growth, known as QE2.

“Bernanke will use nuanced gestures to leave the door open for QE3,” said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of research at Charles Stanley & Co. in London.

The S&P 500 is on course for its third straight monthly advance and, if history is any guide, the index may extend gains next month, according to a Bespoke Investment Group study. Going back to 1928, the index has returned an average 0.12 percent in September when it has been up year-to-date through August, the data showed. The measure has risen 11 percent so far in 2012.

Factory Orders

A Commerce Department report at 10 a.m. in Washington may show U.S. factory orders jumped 2 percent in July after a 0.5 percent drop the previous month, according to the median forecast of 60 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

A barometer of U.S. business activity from the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. decreased to 53.2 in August from 53.7 in July, a separate survey showed.

Splunk, the maker of software that helps businesses analyze Web data, surged 15 percent to $35.22. Revenue for the 2013 fiscal year ending in January will be $183 million to $186 million, Splunk said in a statement late yesterday, higher than the company’s prior forecast of $174 million to $177 million.

Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, gained 1.1 percent to $8.53 in Germany.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) added 0.7 percent to $37.14. The largest U.S. bank will cut financial risks by reducing brokerage dealings, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Thompson Creek Metals Co. (TC), a producer of molybdenum from mines in Canada and the U.S., rose 0.4 percent to $2.52 as Anthony Young, an analyst at Dahlman Rose & Co., upgraded the stock to buy from hold.

Source: Bloomberg