U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the biggest four-day rally in three years sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a record. S&P 500 contracts expiring in March rose 0.1 percent to 2,075.1 at 7:03 a.m. in New York before data that may show the U.S. economy expanded more than previously projected. A rally in technology shares and the Federal Reserve saying it will be patient on the timing of interest-rate increases helped stocks recover from a plunge earlier this month. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 27 points today, or 0.2 percent, to 17,924. “Part of the rebound we’re now witnessing has to do with the realization that the selloff was overdone,� said David Wartenweiler, chief investment officer at Habib Bank AG in Zurich. “The U.S. economy is really on track to continue to grow at a healthy pace. It’s also important that the Fed said they’re going to increase interest rates but be patient.� The S&P 500 and Dow climbed back to record levels yesterday after a slide in oil prices and a worsening of the financial crisis in Russia rippled through financial markets earlier this month, wiping more than $1 trillion from U.S. equity values in less than two weeks. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 5 percent in the seven trading days through Dec. 16. Yesterday’s gains in the S&P 500 completed the fifth recovery this year from a decline of 4 percent or more, only 17 days after it started. In comparable drops beginning in January, April, July and September, the benchmark gauge needed about a month to erase losses, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The S&P 500 is now up 0.5 percent for December and 12 percent this year. The Dow is only 0.2 percent away from 18,000. GDP Growth Economic releases today might add to the optimism. Data at 8:30 a.m. Washington time may show the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3 percent annualized pace in the third quarter, more than a previous estimate of 3.9 percent, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Separate reports may show that orders for durable goods climbed 3 percent in November, while new-home sales rose to a 460,000 annualized pace from 458,000 in October. Personal spending increased last month, and a final reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment for December will confirm a gain, economists forecast. Among companies moving on corporate news, Chesapeake Energy Corp. added 5.7 percent in early New York trading after saying it was authorized to buy back $1 billion of shares. GoPro Inc. (GPRO) climbed 1.7 percent. A lock-up of 107.9 million Class A and Class B shares expires today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The video-camera maker rallied 7.6 percent yesterday, the most since Nov. 3. Gilead Sciences Inc. increased 1.2 percent after its biggest plunge since January 2001. The stock sank 14 percent yesterday as the U.S. biggest drug-benefit manager chose a pill from AbbVie Inc. to be the sole hepatitis C treatment approved for many patients. Qualcomm Inc. dropped 1.7 percent after people familiar with the matter said China wants the chipmaker to accept lower royalty payments for technology used by domestic smartphone manufacturers. To contact the reporter on this story: Inyoung Hwang in London at ihwang7@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecile Vannucci at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net

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