By Stephen Kirkland Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rebounded and U.S. index futures gained after Germany’s central bank raised its forecast for economic growth and the U.K.’s deficit narrowed. The Malaysian ringgit appreciated to a 13-year high. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.6 percent at 7:45 a.m. in New York, after earlier falling 0.4 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.4 percent. German government bonds declined, with 30-year yields rising from the lowest on record. The pound gained 0.5 percent against the euro, and the ringgit rallied 0.7 percent against the dollar as growth topped forecasts. Wheat climbed 2.4 percent. Gross domestic product will increase about 3 percent this year, the Bundesbank said, lifting its forecast from 1.9 percent. Britain posted a smaller deficit than economists predicted in July and retail sales rose the most in five months, reports showed today. Philadelphia manufacturing probably rose, American jobless claims may have fallen and an index of U.S. leading indicators increased, according to Bloomberg surveys. “Current fears of a global double-dip recession are overdone while corporate profits will probably continue to outpace market expectations,” Willem Buiter, London-based chief economist at Citigroup Inc., wrote in a report today. “We continue to expect a sustained but uneven global recovery.” Four stocks rose for every one that fell in Europe’s Stoxx 600 index. Straumann Holding AG, a maker of dental implants, gained 4.1 percent after better-than-estimated profit. Hays Group Plc and Michael Page International Plc climbed more than 3 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised buying shares of the U.K.’s largest recruitment companies. Holcim, United Utilities Holcim Ltd. tumbled 4.3 percent after profit missed analysts’ estimates as demand in Europe declined. United Utilities Group Plc, Britain’s largest publicly traded water company, fell 1.8 percent as JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded its stance on the company. The gain in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 may advance for a third day. The gauge has fallen 10 percent from its high for the year on April 23 amid signs the economic recovery is slowing. The retreat dragged the index’s valuation to about 13 times its companies’ forecast earnings, near an almost 16-month low of 12.5 reached in July. Figures from the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show initial jobless claims fell to 478,000 last week from 484,000 the prior week, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Leading Indicators The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index rose to 7.2 from a July reading of 5.1, economists said before the 10 a.m. release. The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months rose 0.1 percent after falling 0.2 percent in June, according to economists. The report is also due at 10 a.m. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed for a fifth day, rising 0.6 percent. The ringgit posted the biggest gain among developing-nation currencies after the central bank said Malaysia’s economy expanded 8.9 percent last quarter, beating the 8.4 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Vietnam’s dong weakened 0.9 percent to a record low versus the dollar after an adviser to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the country risks a foreign-currency liquidity “shock.” Germany’s 30-year bond yield rose three basis points to 3.03 percent, after it fell to 2.957 percent yesterday, the lowest on record. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury climbed three basis points to 2.66 percent. Debt Sales The U.S. government will say today it plans to sell $102 billion of two-, five- and seven-year notes next week, the smallest monthly offering of the combination since May 2009, according to a survey of primary dealers, who are required to bid at the auctions. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is scheduled to make a speech about the U.S. economy in Arkansas at 11:30 a.m. local time today. Wheat futures rose 16.25 cents to $7.055 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade amid speculation Russia may have to increase imports. The Vedomosti newspaper reported that the country may have to buy at least 5 million metric tons of grains in the marketing year that ends June 30. Russia normally imports about 1.5 million tons, the newspaper said. The Agriculture Ministry isn’t discussing plans to import more grain in the marketing year, spokesman Oleg Aksyonov said. Copper climbed 0.7 percent to $7,445 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net

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