U.S. stock-index futures extended losses after government data signaled that gains in business investment will cool. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December lost 0.5 percent to 1,177.2 at 8:33 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 42 points, or 0.4 percent, to 11,082. Orders for U.S. non-military capital equipment excluding airplanes dropped in September. Bookings for such goods, including computers and machinery meant to last at least three years, fell 0.6 percent after a 4.8 percent gain in August that was smaller than previously estimated, figures from Commerce Department showed. Total orders climbed 3.3 percent last month, led by a doubling in aircraft demand. The S&P 500 has rallied 13 percent since the end of August as investors speculated that the Fed will pump more cash into the economy to safeguard the recovery. The central bank will probably announce a program to buy several hundred billion dollars of U.S. Treasury bonds over the next few months, the Wall Street Journal reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The central bank will acquire fewer assets through its new plan, expected to be announced at the conclusion of the Fed’s Nov. 2-3 meeting, than the $2 trillion asset-purchase program that it embarked upon during the financial crisis, according to the report. Officials want flexibility in the new program to determine whether it works, the Journal said. Per-share earnings have topped estimates at 174 of the 206 companies in the S&P 500 that have announced results since Oct. 7, or about 84 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net income has increased 39 percent for the group as sales rose 7.6 percent. S&P 500 profits are headed for a fourth straight quarterly increase after a record nine-quarter slump. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Regan at mregan12@bloomberg.net

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