U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied to a record, as investors awaited the release of earnings and tomorrow’s jobless data to assess the strength of the economy. Halliburton Co. was little changed in early New York trading after reporting earnings that beat forecasts. AT&T (T) Inc. advanced 1.4 percent after agreeing to sell or lease 9,700 wireless towers to Crown Castle International Corp. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was little changed after agreeing to pay $13 billion to end U.S. civil probes of its mortgage-bond sales. S&P 500 futures expiring in December rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,737.2 at 7:33 a.m. in New York. The equities gauge had its best weekly gain since July last week as results from Google Inc. topped estimates and speculation grew that the Federal Reserve will delay cutting monetary stimulus. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 15,320 today. The S&P 500 has advanced 22 percent this year as Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke refrained from reducing $85 billion of monthly bond purchases to stimulate the economy. The measure has gained 3.7 percent so far in October as Congress agreed on a new federal budget that avoided a default and ended the first partial government shutdown in 17 years. “Investors will sooner rather than later start to wonder how long the celebratory mood can last,� Alastair Winter, chief economist at Daniel Stewart & Co. in London, said in e-mailed comments today. “Certainly, there are fat profits available from October and, if not already booked, from the third quarter and the year-to-date.� Jobs Data The Labor Department will tomorrow release the September jobs report, which was delayed from its original Oct. 4 date because of the 16-day partial federal shutdown that ended Oct. 17. The October employment data will come out on Nov. 8, a week later than previously scheduled. The government will publish the September data on consumer prices on Oct. 30, though a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said the accuracy of inflation reports will be compromised for as long as seven months because of the shutdown. The data tomorrow will probably show employers added 180,000 workers in September, the most since April, after a 169,000 gain in August, according to the median estimate of 93 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Today, a report at 10 a.m. in Washington may show sales of existing homes fell to a 5.3 million annual pace last month, from 5.48 million in August, according to the median prediction in a Bloomberg survey. Investment Flow Money has been flowing in and out of financial markets more rapidly than ever before this year, a bullish signal as the threat of a U.S. sovereign default fades. Since Sept. 1, about $47 billion has gone to exchange-traded funds that track everything from stocks to bonds to commodities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That followed $18 billion pulled in August, $40 billion added in July and $11 billion pulled in June, making it the most volatile period on record for flows. Almost $7 billion went to ETFs on Oct. 17 alone. Halliburton slid 0.3 percent to $52.30 in early New York trading. The world’s largest provider of hydraulic-fracturing services said third-quarter net income increased to $706 million, or 79 cents a share, from $602 million, or 65 cents, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings beat analysts’ estimates. McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) rose 0.7 percent to $95.85 in early trading in New York. The world’s largest restaurant chain will publish its third-quarter results that analysts expect will show earnings last quarter climbed to $1.51 per share from $1.43. Texas, AT&T Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) is among other companies reporting earnings today. The largest analog-chip maker on Sept. 10 gave third-quarter sales and profit forecasts that were in line with estimates. The shares didn’t trade in Europe. AT&T, the largest U.S. phone company, advanced 1.4 percent to $35.07 in early New York trading. The company announced yesterday it has reached a leasing deal with Crown Castle for $4.85 billion, giving it extra cash as it considers a European expansion. The agreement makes AT&T the latest carrier to offload towers to independent operators. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) slipped 0.3 percent to $54.15 in premarket trading. The largest U.S. bank has reached a tentative pact to pay $13 billion and free itself from mounting civil disputes with the government while leaving a criminal inquiry unresolved, according to terms described by a person familiar with the talks, who asked not to be named because they were private. The agreement with the Department of Justice would mark the largest amount paid by a financial firm in a settlement with the U.S. To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

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