U.S. index futures declined, signaling equities will retreat after nearing records, as a stronger dollar took a toll on sales at companies including Procter & Gamble Co. and Facebook Inc. Procter & Gamble and 3M Co. slumped more than 1.9 percent as overseas sales were crimped by the dollar. Facebook Inc. slid 0.8 percent after missing revenue estimates for the first time since 2012. Caterpillar Inc. jumped 4 percent as its 2015 forecast topped analysts’ estimates. E-mini contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in June dropped 0.3 percent to 2,093.50 at 8:34 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 71 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,874. Nasdaq 100 Index contracts retreated 0.3 percent. “Underlying revenues remain disappointing as they’re not helped by the ever stronger U.S. dollar,� said Lex Van Dam, a fund manager at Hampstead Capital LLP in London. “The rest of the world is doing its best to provide liquidity but consumer demand remains disappointing. The stock market is reflecting a lack of investment alternatives as opposed to a booming economy.� Stocks rose toward records Wednesday, as technology shares jumped and Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald’s Corp. rallied after reporting earnings. Of the S&P 500 members that have already released results this week, 76 percent beat profit projections and 49 percent topped sales estimates. Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. report after the market closes today. Earnings Forecasts While analysts predict an earnings slump through September, they have moderated how steep that will be. They now forecast first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies will drop 4.3 percent, better than April 10 estimates for a 5.6 percent decline. Procter & Gamble dropped 1.9 percent. The world’s largest consumer-products maker gets the majority of its sales outside North America, leaving the company vulnerable to a dollar that has gained against a number of currencies. 3M tumbled 3.1 percent. The maker of Post-it notes and Scotch tape earns almost two-thirds of its revenue outside the U.S. Facebook slid 0.8 percent as revenue growth also was stunted by the effects of the dollar. Facebook, after acquiring a messaging application popular in Europe and working to appeal to customers in Asia, generates more than half of its revenue outside the U.S. GM, Freeport Texas Instruments Inc. slumped 8.2 percent and Qualcomm Inc. lost 2.4 percent after both forecast quarterly sales and profit below analysts’ estimates. General Motors Co. lost 3 percent. First-quarter profit missed estimates as struggles in Russia and Brazil undermined strong sales of light trucks in the U.S. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. declined 1.8 percent after reporting its first loss since the global financial crisis as the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer grappled with lower commodity prices. Caterpillar jumped 4 percent. The largest construction and mining equipment maker forecast profit for 2015 that topped analysts’ estimates as North American sales improved and as the company cuts costs. EBay Inc. rallied 4.7 percent. Its quarterly profit forecast topped estimates as the Web marketplace recovers from a security breach that forced users to change passwords and a Google Inc. search change that curbed traffic to the site. Lilly, Dow Eli Lilly & Co. rose 0.6 percent after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as the company increased sales of new medications such as cancer drug Cyramza and benefited from higher U.S. prices. Dow Chemical Co. increased 1.7 percent as lower raw-material costs widened plastics margins. Stocks worldwide fell Thursday amid weaker-than-estimated manufacturing reports from Japan to Germany. In the U.S., applications for U.S. unemployment benefits held below 300,000 for the seventh straight week, pointing to a rebound in payrolls after hiring eased last month. A separate report at 10 a.m. will show a slowdown last month in new-home sales, economist forecast.

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