U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may extend the biggest three-day rally in a month, and European shares swung between gains and losses. The euro strengthened. S&P 500 futures added 0.6 percent at 7:55 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.2 percent, after sliding 1.3 percent and climbing 0.5 percent. Copper sank 2.4 percent, while oil fell 0.5 percent after dropping 2.1 percent. The euro appreciated against all but three of its 16 major peers, climbing 0.6 percent versus the dollar. The rate at which London-based banks say they can borrow for three months in dollars rose to the highest level since August 2010. The European Commission responded to reports that euro-area nations are pushing for private Greek bondholders to accept larger writedowns, saying the commission was unaware of discussions among euro-area finance ministers “related to private-sector involvement,” a spokesman said today. Stocks sank earlier, halting a three-day rally, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that Greece’s bailout may need to be renegotiated. “It does feel that markets have got ahead of themselves this week,” Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London, wrote in a note. “If the last 18 months is anything to go by then the significant rally of the last two days could be enough to persuade some of the important European power brokers that there is less urgency to come up with a dramatically expanded European rescue package.” Worst Quarter Stocks worldwide are headed for their worst quarterly performance since 2008 on concern Europe’s debt crisis will spread and amid signs the global economic recovery is faltering. The MSCI All-Country World Index has lost 15 percent this quarter, trading at 11.9 times reported earnings, near the lowest level since March 2009. “We’ve reached a very attractive level of valuations, even in financials for those who have longer investment horizons,” said Pierre Mouton, a fund manager at Notz Stucki & Cie. in Geneva, who helps oversee $7.5 billion. “There are fantastic opportunities. A lot has been massacred.” The increase in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 may extend a three-day, 4.1 percent advance. U.S. durable-goods orders probably declined 0.2 percent in August, according to the median economist forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Futures on the VIX show investors expect the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index to remain at least 50 percent above its historical average of 20.5 through May, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Greek Holdings The Financial Times yesterday reported that some euro-area countries are demanding private creditors take bigger writedowns on their Greek bond holdings. “As far as I’m aware, there is no such discussion within the Eurogroup, which is the relevant body to consider issues related to private sector involvement,” commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told reporters in Brussels today. The Eurogroup is composed of euro-area finance ministers. European Commission President Jose Barroso today called for faster creation of a rescue fund and said he will press ahead with common bonds for the euro area, a proposal Germany opposes. Man Group Plc (EMG) sank 19 percent, the most since November 2008, after the world’s biggest hedge fund said its assets under management will decline by $6 billion amid “suppressed” demand for investment products. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for dollar loans rose to 0.36856 percent from 0.36522 percent yesterday, according to data from the British Bankers’ Association. That’s the highest since Aug. 13, 2010. To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net

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