By Sarah Jones April 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures climbed, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rebound from its biggest drop since February, as optimism on earnings offset concern about contagion from Greece’s debt crisis. Broadcom Corp. rose as the chipmaker forecast sales that topped analysts’ estimates and Wellpoint Inc. rallied after reporting a jump in profit. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advanced after a U.S. Senate hearing. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June gained 0.4 percent to 1,185.8 at 12:48 p.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 0.3 percent to 10,988 while Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 0.5 percent to 2,018. About 80 percent of S&P 500 companies to have posted first- quarter earnings have topped analysts’ projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit estimates for companies in the index rose 9.1 percent on average in April, twice the gain in prices and the largest monthly increase since at least 2006. Even so, the S&P 500 yesterday dropped the most since February after Standard & Poor’s downgraded its ratings on Greek debt to junk and cut Portugal’s two levels as contagion from Greece spread through the euro region, which combined makes up the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S. Broadcom gained 1.5 percent to $35.34 after the biggest maker of chips for television set-top boxes forecast second- quarter sales to rise as much as 12 percent to $1.64 billion, topping the average analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. WellPoint WellPoint gained 1.6 percent to $56.79 after the top U.S. health insurer by enrollment said first-quarter profit climbed 51 percent to $876.8 million as customers who switched to high- deductible plans helped slow the growth in medical costs. Excluding some items, adjusted profit of $1.95 a share beat the $1.67 average estimate according to a Bloomberg survey. Goldman Sachs, Wall Street’s most profitable firm, gained 0.7 percent to $154.08 in Germany after the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations meeting yesterday. The bank’s executives were grilled by U.S. senators at the hearing in Washington, which is probing the bank’s mortgage business. Richard Bove, an analyst at Rochdale Securities LLC, said customers may not leave the firm after the Senate hearing yesterday. Senators “overplayed their hands,” and it was “evident” that “there’s no SEC case at all,” Bove said in an interview with financial news network CNBC. Corning, Dell Corning Inc. rose 1.6 percent to $20.45 in Germany after the world’s biggest maker of glass for flat-panel televisions posted first-quarter profit of 52 cents a share, topping analysts’ estimates as consumers resumed buying TVs and personal computers. Dell Inc. dropped 1.7 percent to $16.25 in Germany as UBS AG lowered its recommendation for the third-biggest personal- computer maker to “neutral” from “buy.” Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. auto company to avoid bankruptcy last year, slid 1 percent to $13.44. Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded the shares to “underperform” from “neutral.” “Ford had a very strong first quarter, but we do not think this level of profitability is sustainable,” analysts wrote in a report to clients. To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.

Source