U.S. stock-index futures declined, indicating that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend the past two days of losses, as concern resurfaces that Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis will slow the global economic recovery. Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 1 percent as the price of oil fell below $75 a barrel in New York. BioMed Realty Trust Inc. retreated 1.9 percent after it announced a share sale and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. dropped 4.4 percent after saying it would sell convertible notes. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December retreated 0.7 percent to 1,121.8 at 7:39 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 0.6 percent to 10,612, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures decreased 0.5 percent to 1,969.5. The S&P 500 slid 0.5 percent yesterday, the most since Sept. 7, to 1,134.28 in New York, a day after the Federal Reserve said it’s willing to ease monetary policy further to spur growth. The gauge has gained 1.7 percent so far this year, leaving it 6.8 percent below its peak for 2010. “Any austerity measures in Europe or the U.S. will put even more pressure on future growth,” Mads Koefoed, a market strategist at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen, said. “Clearly, the euro zone slowdown is progressing even before serious austerity measures have begun to kick in.” European stocks dropped for a third day, led by bank and construction shares, as concern intensified that countries on the periphery of the euro area will fail to repay their debt. Irish and Portuguese 10-year government bond yields widened to records relative to similar-maturity benchmark German bunds. European Industry Growth in Europe’s services and manufacturing industries weakened more than economists forecast in September, adding to evidence the recovery in the region is deteriorating. A composite index based on a survey of euro-area purchasing managers in both industries declined to 53.8 from 56.2 in August, London-based Markit Economics said today. Economists expected a reading of 55.7, according to the median of 15 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. U.S. reports on sales of existing homes, claims for unemployment benefits and a gauge of leading indicators may provide more evidence on the state of the economy today. U.S. Homes Sales Sales of existing homes in the U.S. probably climbed in August to the second-lowest level on record, economists said before a report due at 10 a.m. in Washington today. Home resales probably rose to a 4.1 million annual pace in August, behind only July’s 3.83 million as the weakest in a decade’s worth of data, according to the median of 72 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. A Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. will show claims for unemployment benefits held at 450,000 last week for a second time, according to the Bloomberg survey. The Conference Board’s gauge of leading economic indicators rose 0.1 percent in August, the same as the prior month, according to the median forecast in the survey. Following gains of 0.7 percent on average in the 12 months through June, the smaller advances signal that the economy will expand at a slower pace in the second half of the year. The data is due at 10 a.m. Exxon Mobil, Petrohawk Exxon Mobil, the world’s second-largest producer of oil from deep-water wells, fell 1 percent to $60.81 in Europe, indicating it may decline in New York for a third straight day. The price of oil dropped to $74.12 a barrel after a government report showed that U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly increased, adding to signs of slowing economic growth. Petrohawk Energy Corp. shed 1 percent to $14.57 in German trading. The oil and natural-gas producer focusing on South Texas was rated a new “hold” at Citigroup Inc. BioMed Realty Trust slipped 1.9 percent to $18.09. The landlord that rents mostly to life-sciences companies said it will sell 13.5 million shares to fund acquisitions and repay debt. BioMed also announced it will pay $298 million to buy two research campuses in San Francisco. Vertex Pharmaceuticals sank 4.4 percent to $34.57 in composite European trading. The drug developer said it will sell $375 million of convertible senior subordinated notes due in 2015. Forest Laboratories Inc. retreated 2.2 percent to $30.91. The drugmaker was cut to “equal weight” from “overweight” at Morgan Stanley. Red Hat Inc. increased 4.4 percent to $38.38 in German trading. The largest seller of the Linux operating system reported second-quarter profit of 19 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 2.7 percent. Tessco Technologies Inc. soared 21 percent to $14.93. Discovery Group offered to buy the rest of the provider of equipment and services for wireless communications for $15.50 a share, according to a regulatory filing. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. jumped 4.2 percent to $43.84. The home furnishings retailer increased its profit growth forecast for 2010 to 20 percent from 15 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Ewing in Stockholm at aewing5@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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