U.S. stock-index futures declined, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may fall for a third day, on concern about the extent of the slowdown in the economy. Cisco Systems Inc., the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, tumbled 7.4 percent in early New York trading after forecasting sales that missed analysts’ estimates. Juniper Networks Inc. dropped 3.1 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September fell 0.4 percent to 1,080.3 at 7:58 a.m. in New York. Stocks tumbled from Tokyo to New York yesterday amid pessimism that the Federal Reserve’s stimulus plan announced Aug. 10 shows the economic recovery is in jeopardy. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.3 percent today to 10,308, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures dropped 0.5 percent to 1,828.75. “Slow growth, we are coming to understand, is something we are going to have to live with for some time here in the U.S.,” said New York-based Jerry Webman, senior investment officer and chief economist at OppenheimerFunds Inc. “We are going to be cutting the premia that we are willing to pay for stocks and other risky assets for some time to come -- not even because we are necessarily pessimistic -- but because we just don’t know what to expect next.” The S&P 500 fell 2.8 percent yesterday, the most in three weeks, as the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in June, while government data suggested a slowdown in China is deepening. Fewer Jobs Concern the U.S. may face the second recession in three years has pushed the benchmark gauge down 11 percent from its 2010 high on April 23. The decline reached 16 percent on July 2 after the Labor Department said private employers added fewer jobs in June than economists had forecast. “The situation is complex for the Fed because obviously the economy is not doing well, but we are not in a recession,” said Jacques Porta, a Paris-based fund manager at Ofi Patrimoine who helps oversee about $425 million in stocks. “I would have thought the market had more than priced this situation; it should have come as no surprise to anyone.” Initial jobless claims probably fell to 465,000 in the week ended Aug. 7 from 479,000 in the previous period, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists ahead of a report from the Labor Department, due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. The July 31 number was the highest since April and exceeded the most bearish estimate of economists. A separate report scheduled for the same time will detail import prices for July. Cisco, Juniper Cisco dropped 7.4 percent to $21.98. Revenue in the current quarter will range between $10.64 billion and $10.83 billion, the San Jose, California-based company said on a conference call. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated $10.95 billion. Chief Executive Officer John Chambers, 60, said the company was seeing “unusual uncertainty” and getting “mixed signals” about the health of the economy. The chances of a “double dip” are “relatively low,” he added. The shares were cut to “perform” from “outperform” at Oppenheimer & Co. after the results. Juniper Networks, the second-largest maker of computer- networking equipment, fell 3.1 percent to $26.80. EBay Inc. rose 2.1 percent to $21.70 after Citigroup Inc. advised buying shares of the Internet auctioneer. The owner of e-commerce sites and the PayPal online payment service was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup, which said losses in 2010 and an appealing valuation set up a good “entry point” for investors. EBay shares, which have dropped 9.7 percent this year, may climb to $28 dollars, the bank said. To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

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