U.S. Stock Futures Rise as ECB Allots Loans

U.S. stock futures were little changed after the European Central Bank alloted more loans than estimated to the region’s lenders, and before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanketestifies on the economy.

Apple Inc., the maker of iPad and iPhone devices, gained 0.7 percent to $539 in early New York trading. Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 0.6 percent in Frankfurt trading as oil prices advanced. First Solar Inc. the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar panels, slid 6.8 percent in Frankfurt after reporting a fourth- quarter loss.

Futures (SPH2) on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March rose 0.1 percent to 1,373 at 11:46 a.m. in London after the ECB’s announcement on its long term refinancing operation. The benchmark gauge is heading for a 4.6 percent monthly gain. It has rallied 9.1 percent this year on optimism the U.S. economy is recovering and the euro area’s debt crisis will be contained. The Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday closed above 13,000 for the first time since 2008. Futures on the Dow rose 11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,008.

“The LTRO has come in as a pretty helpful figure, with quite widespread support suggesting very little stigma,” said Guy Foster, a fund analyst at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. The Fed will probably adopt a “cautious tone towards the current economic recovery, but one that’s reasonably optimistic.”

The Frankfurt-based ECB said today it will lend 800 financial institutions 529.5 billion euros ($712 billion) for 1,092 days. Economists predicted an allotment of 470 billion euros, according to the median of 28 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The first tender saw 523 banks borrow 489 billion euros in December.

Bernanke’s Testimony

Bernanke will deliver a semi-annual testimony on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington today.

The Fed chairman said last month that the central bank is considering buying more bonds after policy makers agreed to keep the benchmark interest rate at “exceptionally low levels” at least through late 2014. The Fed has completed two rounds of asset purchases, or quantitative easing, totaling $2.3 trillion so far.

A second estimate by the Commerce Department may confirm the world’s largest economy grew 2.8 percent in the fourth- quarter, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Another report may show personal consumption rose 2 percent in the fourth quarter, as initially estimated, economists forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

Apple Inc., the maker of iPad and iPhone devices, gained 0.7 percent to $539. Exxon Mobil rose 0.6 percent to $87.68 as oil prices gained from the lowest price in almost a week.

First Solar Inc. slid 6.8 percent to $33.93 after posting a fourth-quarter loss of $413 million, or $4.74 a share, from a net income of $155.9 million, or $1.80 a share a year earlier. The median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast earnings of $1.02 per share.

Imagination Technologies Group Inc. fell 1.3 percent to $9.87 in Frankfurt trading.

DreamWorks Animation (DWA), the maker of the “Shrek” films, slid 7.3 percent to $18.21 in Frankfurt after saying yesterday fourth-quarter profit fell to 29 cents a share from 99 cents a year earlier, reflecting lower DVD sales.