0983112209

Thu 0983112209
U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance After Dell Beats Estimates
By Sarah Jones
Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose after Dell Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of personal computers, reported profit that beat analysts' estimates.
``We're a seeing a lot of strength in terms of earnings,'' said Erik Ristuben, director of investment strategy at Russell Investment Group in New York. ``Stocks, even after this very good run in 2006, look still to be good value for money.''
Brocade Communications Systems Inc. also gained as earnings at the biggest maker of switches for data-storage networks topped predictions.
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December added 2.6 to 1408.8 at 11:58 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 18 at 12,365. Nasdaq-100 Index futures gained 3 to 1818.5.
Stocks rose yesterday in the U.S., resuming a November rally, after oil prices lifted energy shares higher and Google Inc. surpassed $500 for the first time. The S&P 500 has gained in 10 out of the last 12 days on better-than-expected earnings.
Third-quarter earnings at companies in the S&P 500 have climbed 18.9 percent on average, the most since the fourth quarter of 2004, based on figures compiled by Thomson Financial. The index has advanced 12 percent so far this year.
A report today will probably show consumer confidence held close to a 15-month high this month. The University of Michigan's final index of consumer sentiment slipped to 93.3, from 93.6 in October, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg News. The report is scheduled for release at 10 a.m. in Washington.
European stocks climbed today, approaching a six-year high, while shares in Asia gained the most in six weeks.
Beating Estimates
Dell advanced $2.10 to $26.92 in Germany. The company, whose accounting is under investigation by regulators, said net income was 30 cents a share in the third quarter, higher than the 24-cent average estimate of analysts.
Gross margin, the percentage of sales left after production costs, was 17 percent, beating the 15.7 percent anticipated by UBS AG's Benjamin Reitzes, Institutional Investor magazine's second-ranked computer analyst.
``Dell's margins were a tremendous positive surprise,'' said Sanjay Jhaveri, who helps manage the equivalent of $25.7 million at Vontobel Asset Management in Zurich. ``Things are improving.''
Bear Stearns & Co. raised its recommendation on the stock to ``outperform'' from ``peer perform.'' Deutsche Bank AG increased its price estimate for Dell's shares by 14 percent to $32. Credit Suisse Group and UBS also lifted their price estimates.
Brocade rose 45 cents to $8.94 after the company said fourth-quarter earnings, excluding some items, was 14 cents a share, more than the 12-cent estimate in a Thomson survey.
S&P 500 Entrants
IAC/InterActiveCorp, the collection of businesses assembled by billionaire Barry Diller, rose $2.23 to $36 in Germany. AC/InterActiveCorp, DirecTV Group Inc., the largest U.S. satellite television service, and Questar Corp., an oil and natural-gas producer, were picked to join the S&P 500.
DirectTV shares fell 51 cents to $21.89 in Germany. Questar didn't trade in Europe.
The companies will replace Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Lucent Technologies Inc. and North Fork Bancorp.
VeriSign Inc. lost 19 cents to $23.10. The company, which registers Web addresses on the Internet, said it may take charges totaling $250 million to correct its accounting.
Cray, Incyte
Cray Inc. rose $2.56 to $12.48 in Germany. The maker of commercial supercomputers said it has won a $250 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Incyte Corp. fell 44 cents to $5.08 in Germany after the drugmaker said that it filed to sell $151.8 million in debt due 2011.
PDL BioPharma Inc. lost $1.43 to $21.24 after the company said Roche Holding AG is discontinuing their agreement to jointly develop and sell daclizumab, a drug for organ transplant maintenance.
The S&P 500 added 2.31, or 0.2 percent, to 1402.81 yesterday. The Dow average gained 5.05 to 12,321.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.12, or 0.1 percent, to 2454.84.