U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will drop for a fifth day, amid concern talks between President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers may not yield a budget deal by the year-end deadline. Hewlett-Packard Co. retreated 1.1 percent in German trading after the Justice Department opened an investigation relating to Autonomy Corp. Home Depot Inc. slid 1.2 percent in Germany. Apple Inc. (AAPL) slipped 0.6 percent in early New York trading. RIM rose after Synchronoss Technologies Inc. bought RIM’s NewBay Software Ltd. S&P 500 index futures expiring in March dropped 0.4 percent to 1,405.5 at 7:30 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark yesterday pared losses to 0.1 percent as the House of Representatives planned a session on Dec. 30, fueling optimism a budget deal will be reached. The gauge has rallied 13 percent this year, its largest annual gain since 2009. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 46 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,957 today. “It’s crunch time,� said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. “I think somebody has got to give. Otherwise things look pretty bad.� Obama summoned Republican and Democratic leaders to a White House meeting three days before a year-end deadline to avoid $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases, amid increasing concern that the time is too short to reach a deal. Recession Risk Obama, who had been negotiating one-on-one with House Speaker John Boehner, will meet today with Republicans Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats.The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Washington time. The president returned early from his holiday in Hawaii yesterday as lawmakers disputed which party would be responsible for missing the deadline for a debt deal, a failure that could hurt the U.S. credit rating and cause a recession. A report from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. New York time may show that pending sales of existing houses climbed 1 percent in November from the previous month, when it increased 5.2 percent, according to the median forecast of 35 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Hewlett-Packard lost 1.1 percent to $13.88 in Germany. The Justice Department informed the company on Nov. 21 that it has started a probe relating to Autonomy. The computer maker booked an $8.8 billion writedown related to Autonomy last month after finding that some revenue had been recorded prematurely or improperly. Home Depot Inc. (HD) fell 1.2 percent to $60.34 in Germany. The biggest U.S. home-improvement chain and Lowe’s Cos. have the most at stake among retailers facing a dockworkers’ strike, with possible port closings cutting off shipments right before the lucrative gardening season. Apple, the world’s most valuable company, dropped 0.6 percent to $512 in pre-market trading. RIM rose 0.9 percent to $11.86. Synchronoss Technologies bought RIM’s NewBay for $55.5 million in cash. To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Stoukas in Athens at astoukas@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

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