U.S. stock-index futures dropped, indicating the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will fall for a fourth day, as Alcoa (AA) Inc. cut its forecast for global aluminum demand. Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, lost 1.4 percent in German trading after kicking off the third-quarter reporting season. Chevron (CVX) Corp. slid 1.7 percent after the oil company said third-quarter earnings were “substantially� lower than the previous period. Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) rallied 3.7 percent after profit beat analyst estimates. S&P 500 futures expiring in December decreased 0.2 percent to 1,433.5 as of 10:50 a.m. in London. The gauge fell 1 percent yesterday, extending its three-day decline to 1.4 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreated 33 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,379 today. “We have had a number of large companies reporting poor visibilities and that is going to continue,� Michael O’Sullivan, head of portfolio strategy at Credit Suisse Private Banking in London, said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. “Revenue growth is simply weak because the U.S. economy has slowed, the Asian economy has slowed and Europe is in recession.� The S&P 500 has retreated for the past three days as the International Monetary Fund reduced estimates for global economic growth. The index has still rallied 13 percent from this year’s low on June 1 as the Federal Reserve unveiled a third round of bond purchases. Earnings Season Third-quarter profits and sales for companies in the S&P 500 probably fell in unison for the first time in three years, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Per- share earnings may have dropped 1.7 percent on average after they were little changed in the second quarter. Sales may have slipped 0.6 percent, the data show. Alcoa fell 1.4 percent to $9. The company trimmed its forecast for growth in aluminum consumption this year to 6 percent from 7 percent amid slowing demand from China. Alcoa, the first member of the Dow average to report results, posted third-quarter earnings and sales that exceeded analysts’ projections. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) the biggest publicly traded copper producer, lost 0.7 percent to $40.37 in Germany. Chevron slid 1.7 percent to $115.38 after the company said earnings dropped in the third quarter from the previous period amid lower oil output, falling crude prices and weaker U.S. refining returns. Oil and natural gas output declined 4 percent to the equivalent of 2.518 million barrels a day in June and July from 2.624 million for the entire second quarter. Yum gained 3.7 percent to $68.50 in Germany. The owner of the Taco Bell and KFC fast-food chains reported a 23 percent increase in third-quarter net income to $471 million, or $1 a share, as sales climbed in the U.S. and China. Profit excluding some items was 99 cents a share, compared with the 97 cent average of 22 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

Source