European stock-index futures advanced, indicating that the Stoxx Europe 600 Index may rebound from its first weekly loss in a month. Asian shares and U.S. futures were little changed.
Vallourec SA, which produces steel pipes for the oil and gas industry, may move after the chairman told La Tribune that he has seen a rebound in volumes. Standard Chartered Plc may be active after saying it is “tracking” toward a strong first- half performance. ABB Ltd., the world’s biggest builder of power-transmission networks, might move after a newspaper report that the company is weighing takeover targets.
Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark gauge for the euro region, rose 0.3 percent at 7:22 a.m. in London. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may open 25 points higher, according to Cantor Index.
The Stoxx 600 dropped 2.8 percent last week, snapping four straight weeks of gains, after disappointing U.S. housing data and a surge in the cost to protect from a Greek default reignited concern about the global economic recovery. The gauge has fallen 8.8 percent from this year’s high on April 15.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent today and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined less than 0.1 percent.
Capital Requirements
Global efforts to tighten banking oversight have gained momentum, U.S. President Barack Obama said following the Group of 20 meeting this weekend. Group leaders yesterday agreed to pursue higher capital requirements for banks once their economic recoveries take root. The leaders endorsed targets to cut deficits at least by half by 2013 and stabilize their debt-to- output ratios by 2016.
Consumer spending in the U.S. was probably little changed in May for a second month as Americans used wage gains to rebuild savings, economists said before a report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Purchases rose 0.1 percent, according to the median forecast of 58 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
“We will welcome encouraging economic data from the U.S. this week,” David Taylor, market analyst at CMC Markets, wrote. “Personal spending, consumer confidence, employment and manufacturing data will all be watched closely.”
Vallourec has seen a rebound in volumes after a low point reached in the first quarter, Chairman Philippe Crouzet told La Tribune in an interview. The company is benefiting from a recovery in the U.S., Brazil and Asia, while the economy in Europe is “less good,” Crouzet told the newspaper.
Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered, the U.K. bank that earns three-quarters of its profit in Asia, might move.
“Economic conditions continue to improve across our geographies and business activity levels are increasing, although recent market volatility has had some impact on sentiment,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Sands said in a statement.
ABB is weighing other takeover targets after agreeing to buy Chloride Group Plc and software maker Ventyx Inc, Finanz und Wirtschaft said, citing an interview with Chief Financial Officer Michel Demare.
BP Plc might be active. The company stood by its August timeline for plugging the Gulf of Mexico gusher behind the biggest U.S. oil spill on record, sticking with a plan that may set the company up to beat its own schedule.
BP Leak
The first of two relief wells aiming to intercept and plug the leak has reached more than 90 percent of its target depth and detected the metal casing of the Macondo wellbore, London- based BP said on June 25. The relief well is still slated to be done in early August as BP enters the “delicate” phase of testing to find the right spot to stop the leak, company spokesman David Nicholas said by telephone yesterday.
Banco Sabadell SA may move. Spain’s fourth-biggest commercial bank offered to buy Banco Guipuzcoano SA for 732 million euros ($903 million).
MAN SE, Europe’s third-largest truckmaker, may be active. The company’s diesel-engine and turbine unit will receive new orders exceeding 3 billion euros this year, unit head Klaus Stahlmann told the German newspaper Die Welt.
Fiat SpA is negotiating with six banks on a 4 billion euro financing to prepare for splitting its car unit from its truck and tractor operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the talks.
E.ON, Gazprom
E.ON AG may sell its 3.5 percent stake in Russia’s natural- gas monopoly OAO Gazprom, Interfax reported, citing unidentified people. The stake worth more than $4 billion will probably be sold via one of Russia’s state companies in order to avoid a drop in Gazprom shares, the newswire said.
Reed Elsevier NV may be active. The publisher of Variety magazine is being targeted by buyout firms seeking to purchase the company’s exhibitions business, the Sunday Times said, without saying where it got the information. Reed has told at least one buyout firm that the business, which may be valued at about 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion), isn’t for sale, the newspaper said.
Infineon Technologies AG may move. Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed to help Russia’s AFK Sistema negotiate with Infineon about purchasing a stake in the German semiconductor maker, Financial Times Deutschland reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.
