U.S. stock-index futures climbed up, after
the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped from a record, as Russia
discussed a cease-fire in Ukraine and as investors awaited data
that may show the world’s largest economy is strengthening.
Concur Technologies Inc. rallied 13 percent in German trading as people with knowledge of the matter said the company has approached software makers about a sale. Guidewire Software Inc. dropped 8.5 percent after its full-year profit and sales projections disappointed analysts.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring this month added 0.4 percent to 2,007.6 at 10:18 a.m. in London. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 72 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,125.
“The cease-fire in Ukraine is very important,” said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, a strategist at Deutsche Postbank AG in Bonn. “People are beginning to wonder whether there will finally be a conclusion to the crisis, and if investors can focus on other factors, like economic indicators and central-bank policy. We have to see what the parties will choose to do, but right now, this is a positive driver. ”
The S&P 500 gained 3.8 percent in August, breaching the
2,000 level for the first time, on bets that the Federal Reserve
will keep interest rates low even as the economy shows signs of
picking up. Three rounds of stimulus have helped spur economic
growth and helped the S&P 500 almost triple from its low in
March 2009. The value of U.S. shares rose to a record $23.9
trillion on Aug. 26.
Ukraine Negotiations
Discussions between Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin yielded an agreement on a permanent cease-fire in the eastern region, a statement on Ukrainian President website said. Minutes later, Putin’s spokesman confirmed the discussion while denying a deal had been reached.
The Fed releases its Beige Book, a survey based on reports from the 12 regional banks in the Fed system, at 2 p.m. in Washington. The report includes a summary and analysis of current economic conditions in each district and sector, and will give policy makers clues about the economy before the Fed’s Sept. 16-17 meeting.
Data at 10 a.m. in Washington may show factory orders rose 11 percent in July, compared with a 1.1 percent gain in June, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That would be the largest increase on record.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan update monetary policy tomorrow amid speculation over the outlook for stimulus after disappointing economic reports.
Concur jumped 13 percent to $114.53. The software developer has approached companies including SAP SE, Oracle Corp., and Microsoft Corp. to gauge their interest, the people said. Oracle decided not to pursue a transaction, one of the people said, while another person said Microsoft isn’t interested.
Guidewire dropped 8.5 percent to $41.92 in Germany. Sales will probably not exceed $381.9 million in the year through July 31, 2015, while adjusted profit will probably be between 35 cents and 40 cents a share, the company said. Analysts predicted revenue of $386.2 million and earnings of 55 cents a share.
