By Stephen Kirkland Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. index futures rose, indicating stocks will pare their third week of declines, on speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will signal measures to stimulate the economy. The yen weakened as Japan’s Naoto Kan pledged “bold” action to prevent further gains in the currency. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent at 6:44 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1 percent, after falling 0.7 percent. Treasury 10-year yields rose from within nine basis points of a 17-month low. The yen depreciated 0.3 percent against the dollar. Tin climbed to a two-year high and wheat rose 1.2 percent. Bernanke will discuss the outlook for the economy and policy responses at the central bank’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The U.S. economy probably slowed in the second quarter even more than initially calculated, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said before today’s Commerce Department report. Japan’s Prime Minister Kan said the government will compile an outline of its stimulus plan on Aug. 31. “The Fed needs to lay out the available measures that it can take in order to try and inject some more liquidity into the market,” Richard Cookson, global chief investment officer at Citigroup Inc.’s Private Bank in London, said on Bloomberg Television’s “On The Move” with Mark Barton. “On the one hand he doesn’t want to say that everything is going to hell in a hand basket, while on the other hand, what he does want to do is say, is if things do deteriorate further, this is what we can do.” Europe, Asia The MSCI World Index of stocks in 24 developed nations slipped 0.1 percent. Three shares fell for every two that rose on Europe’s Stoxx 600. BP Plc led oil and gas shares to the biggest declines among 19 industry groups, falling 2 percent after executives yesterday told U.S. investigators they didn’t know who was in charge or made key decisions before the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in April. European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. slid 4.5 percent after a report that Airbus SAS reduced its production targets for the A350 airliner. Banca Popolare di Milano Scrl tumbled 5.3 percent after earnings missed estimates. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3 percent. Fairfax Media Ltd., Australia’s second-largest newspaper publisher, jumped 4.4 percent and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. climbed 1.3 percent as earnings beat forecasts. The gain in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 will pare its third straight weekly loss. Growth in the world’s largest economy probably cooled to a 1.4 percent pace from April to June, the smallest gain in the year-old recovery, rather than the 2.4 percent projected last month, according to the median forecast of 81 economists. The Commerce Department will publish the data at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Consumer Confidence A separate report today may show consumer confidence improved this month. The Reuters/University of Michigan final sentiment index for August probably rose to 69.6 from 67.8 at the end of July, according to the survey median. The data is scheduled for release at 9:55 a.m. German 30-year bond yields fell to a record 2.623 percent before Bernanke’s speech, scheduled for 10 a.m. New York time. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.51 percent. The Markit iTraxx SovX Index of credit-default swaps on 15 European governments climbed 0.5 basis point to 153.5, adding to a 38.5 basis-point monthly gain, the most since the gauge started in September 2009, according to data provider CMA. The yen stayed lower against the dollar and the euro after Kan said he wants the Bank of Japan to implement monetary policy “swiftly.” The yen was 0.3 percent weaker at 84.67 per dollar and 107.69 per euro. The European currency was little changed at $1.2715. Yields Decline “The announcement by the government is highly likely to disappoint,” Derek Halpenny, European head of global currency research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London, wrote in a report. “The reality is that global yield declines are playing a key role in yen gains and in that sense a change in international conditions is required.” Tin, mostly used for soldering metals in electrical appliances, climbed as much as 1.9 percent to $21,750 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, the highest price since Aug. 22, 2008. Wheat for December delivery advanced 1.2 percent to $6.9675 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Oil for October delivery in New York fell 0.3 percent to $73.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Emerging Markets Russian stocks fell 0.9 percent as oil prices retreated. Indian shares slipped 0.6 percent as software exporter Infosys Techologies Ltd. lost 1.9 percent, its biggest decline for five weeks. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slid 0.3 percent to 962.94. The measure has fallen 2.6 percent this week and 2.9 percent in August. Investors withdrew a net $7.1 billion from equity funds tracked worldwide in the week to Aug. 25 and put some $5.2 billion into bonds, according to EPFR Global. A net $5.4 billion was redeemed from U.S. stock funds, while inflows into emerging markets were the lowest in 13 weeks. Developing-nation bond funds took in $1 billion, on course for a record-setting year, while U.S. bond funds drew $2.5 billion, according to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm. To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net

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