By Alexis Xydias July 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rebound from a nine-month low, as investors awaited a government jobs report for more signs about the outlook for the economy. McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant company, rose 0.6 percent in European trading. Exxon Mobil Corp. gained 1.1 percent. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. declined 0.5 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September gained 0.3 percent to 1,024.5 at 8:11 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.2 percent to 9,679, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 0.4 percent to 1,733.25. U.S. stocks fell yesterday for the eighth day in nine as weaker-than-estimated data on manufacturing and home sales fueled concern that the recovery is in peril. The S&P 500 tumbled 12 percent in the second quarter to the cheapest level in more than a year on concern a sovereign-debt crisis in Europe and China’s moves to slow the world’s largest emerging economy will dent global growth. “There has been a major shift in sentiment and there are a lot of questions out there unnerving investors,” said Jonathan Plant at Liberum Capital ltd. in London. “Do we enter a double- dip recession? Can earnings hold up? Can a jobless recovery be sustained? There is going to be a lot of focus on today’s report, particularly on job creation in the private sector.” Payrolls Report Employment in the U.S. fell in June for the first time since December, reflecting a drop in federal census workers as the decennial population count began to wind down, economists said before today’s report. The S&P 500 closed yesterday at 12.6 times projected profits for its companies, according to Bloomberg data, its cheapest valuation since March 2009, when the gauge began an 80 percent rally. McDonald’s advanced 0.8 percent to $67.23 in Germany. Exxon Mobil, the biggest oil company, gained 0.9 percent to $57.13. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, dropped 0.5 percent to $48.12. Dell Inc. gained 0.5 percent to $12.09. The world’s third- largest personal-computer maker agreed to buy Scalent Systems Inc., a maker of software for managing server computers, as it pushes to expand sales of data-center products. Blockbuster Inc. may be active. The money-losing video- rental chain said the New York Stock Exchange informed the company it will begin the process of delisting its common stock. Shareholders rejected a proposal for a reverse split of the shares needed to boost the price and comply with the exchange’s listing requirements. The shares didn’t trade in Europe. --Editor: Michael P. Regan To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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