U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise on China Data; Tesla Jumps

U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will rebound from three days of losses, after U.S. jobless claims fell in July and China's trade data rose more than estimated last month.

Tesla Motors Inc. surged 14 percent after reporting second-quarter results that surpassed analysts' estimates. Groupon Inc. jumped 26 percent after the daily-deals company appointed a new chief executive officer and reported a smaller-than-projected loss. McDonald's Corp. jumped 0.9 percent after same-store sales topped analysts' estimates as new wraps and breakfast food attracted U.S. diners.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September rose 0.3 percent to 1,693.90 at 8:37 a.m. in New York. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 55 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,497 today.

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Today's data "could be a sign that we see some stabilization in Chinese activity," said Patrick Moonen, who helps oversee $244 billion as senior strategist at ING Investment Management in The Hague. "I don't think the U.S. equity market is only a matter of monetary policy. As the economy recovers, the earnings backdrop will become the most important element."

The S&P 500 has declined 1.1 percent over the past three days amid growing speculation the Federal Reserve will pare bond purchases this year as the economy strengthens. Fed Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said yesterday there had been "meaningful improvement" in the labor market and a scaling back of stimulus may be warranted if it continues.

Jobless Claims

Data today showed the fewest workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits over the past month since before the last recession. The number of claims in the four weeks ended Aug. 3 declined to 335,500 on average, the least since November 2007, a Labor Department report showed. They rose to 333,000 last week, in line with the median forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, from 328,000 the prior week.

China's exports and imports exceeded economists' forecasts, adding to signs that the world's second-largest economy is stabilizing following a two-quarter slowdown. Shipments abroad rose 5.1 percent in July from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said. The median estimate was for a 2 percent increase in a Bloomberg survey, after June's 3.1 percent drop. Imports gained 10.9 percent.

Advances in stocks this year have also been underpinned by better-than-expected earnings. Of the 441 companies in the S&P 500 to have reported quarterly earnings this period, 72 percent have exceeded analysts' profit estimates and 55 percent have beaten sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Musk's Tesla

Tesla, the electric-car company led by Elon Musk, soared 14 percent to $153.51. The manufacturer reported second-quarter operating profit of 20 cents a share, including 15 cents related to a leasing program. Even without that provision, results exceeded the average of 10 analysts' estimates for a 20-cent loss, according data compiled by Bloomberg. On its operating basis, Tesla said it will make money all year.

Groupon rallied 26 percent to $10.96. The operator of the largest daily-deals website posted a second-quarter net loss of $7.57 million, or 1 cent a share, compared with the 3-cent average analyst estimate. The company also named co-founder Eric Lefkofsky as CEO. Groupon sold shares to the public at $20 in November 2011.

McDonald's climbed 0.9 percent to $99.25. The world's largest restaurant chain said sales at stores open at least 13 months rose 0.7 percent last month. The 34,700-restaurant chain has this year introduced new menu items in the U.S., including chicken McWraps and new flavors of Quarter Pounder burgers, to compete with Burger King Worldwide Inc. and Wendy's Co., which are rolling out new foods.

Prudential, Coffee

Prudential Financial Inc. added 1.4 percent to $80.50. The second-largest U.S. life insurer said results improved in its home nation after buying a unit from Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and adding pension accounts from General Motors Co.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., a maker of Keurig single-serve pods and machines, fell 4.5 percent to $75.69 after reporting declining coffee brewer sales.

Brewer and accessory sales dropped 4.3 percent to $133.1 million in its fiscal third quarter, Green Mountain said. Sales growth of single-serve packs slowed to 18 percent in the quarter from 21 percent in the prior three months.