U.S. stock-index futures advanced, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rebound from the biggest drop in three months, as European finance ministers started work on possible aid for Ireland’s debt-laden banks. Human Genome Sciences Inc. jumped 4.7 percent in early trading in New York after the drug company won a U.S. advisory panel’s backing to sell the first new lupus drug in more than 50 years. Chico’s FAS Inc. rose 2.2 percent after posting earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December rose 0.3 percent to 1,177.7 at 12:43 p.m. in London, paring an earlier rally of as much as 0.5 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 0.2 percent to 11,001, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures gained 0.3 percent to 2,096.25. “For the moment you have an opportunity to find real cheap stocks, especially after the decline we had yesterday,” said Vienna-based Herbert Perus, who as head of equities at Raiffeisen Capital Management helps oversee about $36 billion. “The fear is imminent at the moment so we’ll have risk-on days followed by risk-off days, but after a period of volatility people will look again and find low valuations for equities.” Debt Crisis The S&P 500 had its biggest slump since Aug. 19 yesterday amid speculation that the debt crisis in Europe is worsening and that China will act to slow its economy. The U.S. benchmark index has still jumped 15 percent since July as the Federal Reserve increased its program of asset purchases to stimulate growth. European Union and International Monetary Fund experts will start scanning the books of Ireland’s debt-laden banks tomorrow in Dublin in a prelude to a possible aid package to stem Europe’s widening fiscal crisis. Finance chiefs from the 16-country euro area said the joint assessment will determine whether Ireland can patch up the banking system on its own or needs to fall back on the EU-IMF 750 billion-euro ($1 trillion) rescue fund. The cost of living in the U.S. probably rose for a fourth month in October, led by higher gasoline and food prices that aren’t filtering through to other goods and services, economists said before reports today. Core Costs The consumer-price index increased 0.3 percent after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labor Department report, due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Excluding food and fuel, so-called core costs may have increased 0.7 percent from October 2009, matching a record low. Another report at the same time from the Commerce Department may show builders broke ground on 598,000 houses at an annual rate in October, down from a 610,000 pace the prior month, according to economists surveyed. Building permits, a sign of future construction, rose 3.8 percent to a 568,000 rate, according to the estimates. Starts are 73 percent below their January 2006 peak. Human Genome Sciences climbed 4.7 percent to $27.10 in early New York trade. The drugs company won a U.S. advisory panel’s backing together with GlaxoSmithKline Plc of the U.K. to sell Benlysta. While the Food and Drug Administration isn’t required to follow its outside recommendations, it usually does. Chico’s FAS rose 2.2 percent to $10.29 in Germany. The Fort Myers, Florida-based clothing retailer reported third- quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, beating the forecast for 15 cents in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. CVR Energy Inc. tumbled 8.3 percent to $10.12 in Germany. The Sugar Land, Texas-based oil refiner said shareholders including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Kelso & Co. will sell 15 million shares in a secondary public offering. Norfolk Southern Corp. dropped 0.3 percent to $60.35 in New York. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its recommendation on the cargo shipper to “sell” from “neutral.” BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. may be active. The third-largest U.S. wholesale chain said it will earn $2.48 to $2.52 a share for the year. It had previously expected profit of $2.40 to $2.50 a share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $2.44. The shares didn’t trade in Europe. 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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