By Adam Haigh Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures dropped, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will retreat from a 13-month high, after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the world faces a gradual and uneven recovery. Hewlett-Packard Co. slid 1.1 percent and 3Com Corp. surged 35 percent after the world’s largest personal-computer maker made a $2.7 billion offer from 3Com. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. declined in Germany before it reports earnings today. Futures on the S&P 500 index expiring next month retreated 0.5 percent to 1,090.8 at 9:49 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.4 percent to 10,214. Nasdaq- 100 Index futures declined 0.5 percent to 1,774.25. The S&P 500 has rebounded 62 percent from a 12-year low in March, recovering almost half of its plunge from a record in October 2007. The rally occurred as government stimulus measures and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts helped end a four-quarter contraction in the U.S. economy. That’s helped push the index to 22 times reported earnings, the highest since 2002, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg. “The worst is over,” Wen said in speech televised from a forum in Beijing. “The global economy is starting to recover but a total recovery will be a slow and bumpy process.” A Labor Department report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week. Initial jobless claims probably dropped by 2,000 to 510,000 in the week ended Nov. 7., according to a survey of economists. Government stimulus measures such as the homebuyer tax credit are boosting consumer demand, helping to pull the economy out of its worst recession in seven decades. 3Com, Wal-Mart 3Com surged 35 percent to $7.695 in German trading after the Hewlett-Packard bid. Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd is seeking to add to the company’s $118 billion in annual sales after the sharpest slump in PC demand in history. The purchase of 3Com increases competition with Cisco Systems Inc., the world’s largest maker of computer- networking equipment, which is also expanding into Hewlett- Packard’s businesses. Hewlett-Packard slid 1.1 percent to $49.45 in Germany. Wal-Mart fell 1 percent to $52.47 in Germany. The world’s largest retailer is poised to report earnings before the U.S. equity market opens. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. dropped 8.9 percent to $69.18 in German trading. The Waterbury, Vermont-based seller of Keurig single-cup coffee makers said it will probably earn 15 cents a share at most in the first quarter. That’s less than the 23-cent average of three analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Eighty-three percent of S&P 500 companies that released results have exceeded the average analyst estimate for third quarter earnings per share, a record in Bloomberg data going back to 1993, even as profits slumped for a record ninth straight quarter. To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.

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