U.S. stock futures were little changed, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will stay near a seven-week high, as investors awaited reports on retail sales, jobless-benefit claims and business inventories. Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) retreated 0.7 percent in pre-market New York trading as the company proposed buying the remaining stake of Clearwire Corp. it doesn’t already own. Archer-Daniels- Midland Co. (ADM) rose 0.5 percent after its bid for Australian grain handler GrainCorp Ltd. was rejected. S&P 500 futures expiring this month dropped less than 0.1 percent to 1,426.1 at 7:43 a.m. in London. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged at 13,230. The S&P 500 has risen 0.9 percent this month as lawmakers tried to complete a deal to avoid more than $600 billion of spending reductions and tax increases coming into effect, extending the 2012 rally to 14 percent. Its average increase for December is 1.5 percent, the most of any month except July, according to data dating back to 1928 compiled by Bloomberg. “It would be great if the data is good, but what really matters is this U.S. budget deal and the prospect that there could be a recession out there,� Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Holdings Plc in London, said in a phone interview today. “The markets will hang about until we get a deal or not.� Today’s U.S. retail sales figures may show a 0.5 percent gain in November, following a 0.3 percent decline in October, according to the median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales may rise on rebounding demand for automobiles, economists said before the Commerce Department’s report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Economic Data At the same time, Labor Department figures might show the number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell to 368,000 last week from 370,000 the previous period, economists predicted. Another release may show business inventories increased 0.4 percent in October after climbing 0.7 percent the previous month, according to a Bloomberg survey. Republicans in Congress yesterday hardened their resistance to President Barack Obama’s proposed higher taxes for top earners and demanded a spending-cut plan, as lawmakers in both parties said it’s becoming less likely an agreement can be reached before Christmas. White House and congressional officials warned their staffs that they may be spending the holidays at their desks in Washington. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that monetary stimulus can’t offset the full impact of the so-called fiscal cliff. Greek Aid In Europe, euro-area finance ministers approved the disbursement of 49.1 billion euros ($64 billion) of Greek aid after wrapping up a 14-hour negotiation on a banking union at 4:30 a.m. in Brussels. Some 34.3 billion euros will be released within the next few days with the remaining amount doled out in the first quarter. European Union leaders begin a two-day summit on economic and monetary ties today. Sprint retreated 0.7 percent to $5.62 as it seeks a full takeover of Clearwire, its wireless partner, for $2.90 a share. Sprint currently owns just over 50 percent of the Bellevue, Washington-based company. Clearwire (CLWR) climbed 13 percent to $3.12 in pre-market New York trading. ADM rose 0.5 percent to $27.35 in German trading after GrainCorp said its $3 billion bid for the only major publicly traded grain merchant in Australia was too low. The corn processor raised its offer by 3.8 percent last week. Metlife Inc. (MET) advanced 0.9 percent to $33.90 in pre-market New York trading even after the largest U.S. life insurer projected 2013 earnings that were below analysts’ estimates as low interest rates weigh on investment returns. Legg Mason Inc. (LM) may move as the money manager will take a non-cash $460 million to $550 million after-tax impairment charge. The shares didn’t trade in Europe. To contact the reporter on this story: Sofia Horta e Costa in London at shortaecosta@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

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