U.S. stock-index futures declined, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will retreat for the third time in four days, as reports from Europe, Japan and South Korea increased concern the global economy is slowing. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) fell 0.6 percent in early New York trading. Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) retreated 4.8 percent after S&P said it will remove the company from its benchmark index. LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB), which will replace Sears in the gauge, climbed 3.5 percent. S&P 500 futures expiring in September lost 0.4 percent to 1,401.8 at 7:26 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark has still rallied 10 percent from a low on June 1, and is headed for a 2.3 percent gain in August, which would be its third straight monthly advance. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 42 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,042 today. “We’ve seen tremendous gains and we need to see new momentum before a further rally, potentially from all the news around Europe,� said Didier Duret, who helps manage about $200 billion as chief investment officer at ABN Amro Private Banking in Geneva. “We might see some setbacks because investors want reassurance before moving forward, but the risks of going back to June levels are pretty low.� A report today showed that economic confidence in the euro area fell to a three-year low in August, more than economists had forecast, as the region’s slump deepened. An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 17-nation currency zone dropped to 86.1 from 87.9 in July, according to the European Commission. That was the lowest since August 2009. Economists had forecast a decrease to 87.5, the median of 26 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. Retail Sales Japan’s retail sales fell in July more than economists had predicted, a release from the trade ministry in Tokyo showed. Sales slipped 0.8 percent from a year earlier, their first drop in eight months. The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey had called for a 0.1 percent decline. In South Korea, confidence among manufacturers stayed near the lowest level since 2009, a report showed. An index measuring expectations for September had a reading of 75, compared with 70 for August, the Bank of Korea said. Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. lender by assets, declined 0.6 percent to $7.95 in early New York trading. Sears, LyondellBasell Sears retreated 4.8 percent to $54.70 after S&P said the retailer controlled by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert has too few shares available for trading to be representative of American companies. LyondellBasell will join the S&P 500 after the close of trading on Sept. 4, according to the index manager. LyondellBasell, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, rallied 3.5 percent to $48.96. The revisions to the S&P 500 may prompt money managers to sell Sears shares and buy LyondellBasell. Pandora Media Inc. (P) surged 14 percent to $11.45 after the Internet radio service said late yesterday that it broke even on an earnings-per-share basis in the second quarter. The median analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey had predicted a loss of 3 cents per share. To contact the reporter on this story: Namitha Jagadeesh in London at njagadeesh@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

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