(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, with underlying equities near record highs, as investors awaited a final reading on growth to gauge the health of the economic recovery. J.C. Penney Co. tumbled 11 percent in premarket trading after giving a lower-than-expected annual forecast. Crocs Inc fell 8 percent as quarterly sales trailed projections. Gap Inc. rose 2.9 percent in after-hours trading after profit beat estimates. Ross Stores Inc. added 4 percent after the apparel retailer announced a buyback. Monster Beverage Corp. jumped after expanding a distribution pact with Coca-Cola Co. Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March fell 0.2 percent to 2106.6 at 7:18 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreated 11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,192. Futures on the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.1 percent, as the underlying measure closed near a record amid a rally in technology companies. The S&P 500 reached fresh records four times in February, heading for its best monthly performance since 2011. The Dow Average and Nasdaq Composite have also rallied, with the latter buoyed by Apple Inc.’s gains to advance within 1.2 percent of its 2000 record. “The market has been very bullish on growth impact from energy and QE in Europe and has been willing to look through short-term negative factors,� said Steen Jakobsen, chief investment officer at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “The market’s earnings momentum is a concern, as earnings at the end of the day drive the S&P more than growth.� The earnings season is drawing to a close, with 96 percent of companies having already reported. Of those, 74 percent beat profit projections and 57 percent topped sales estimates. In the current quarter, analysts predict profit at S&P 500 companies will drop 4.5 percent after a 4.3 percent increase in the final three months of 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show. A report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington will probably show that the U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter at a slower pace than initially reported. Data in January showed U.S. gross domestic product rose 2.6 percent, while economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the revised number to be 2 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Roxana Zega in Zurich at rzega@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecile Vannucci at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net Trista Kelley, Alan Soughley

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