Today is a great day to trade on commodities. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may climb for a fourth day, after Bank of America Corp. said it will repay $45 billion of government bailout funds.
The nation’s largest lender gained more than 3 percent in Germany as the move to pay down debt helped free the bank from restrictions on executive pay that had hampered its search for a new leader. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. slipped 1.6 percent after the drugmaker sold $442.8 million worth of shares.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring this month climbed 0.6 percent to 1,114.6 as of 9:54 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.5 percent to 10,495 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 0.5 percent to 1,800.5.
“The less involvement financial institutions have with governments the better,” said John Haynes, a U.S. equity strategist at Rensburg Sheppards Plc in London. “Clearly Bank of America shareholders would agree.”
Most U.S. stocks rallied yesterday after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report said the economy is “modestly” improving and as higher metals prices boosted raw-material producers.
A report today may show service industries in the U.S. expanded in November for a third month, indicating the economic recovery is broadening beyond manufacturing, according to economists.
Read more here …
