By Daniela Silberstein Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rise for a third day, as investors awaited a report that may show service industries expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year. Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, and Barrick Gold Corp. rose in Germany with metals prices. News Corp. surged 5.7 percent as second-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates. McDonald’s Corp. increased 1.3 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended buying the shares. S&P 500 futures expiring in March gained 0.1 percent to 1,098.7 at 9:42 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 0.2 percent to 10,240 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 0.1 percent to 1,771.25. “Economic numbers are in the foreground and will be crucial for the market as a lot of the fourth-quarter earnings are already out,” said Gerold Kuehne, who manages $172 million in U.S. equities at LLB Asset Management AG in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. “We’ll keep seeing breakouts to the upside and the downside in the market. Overall sentiment is positive.” The S&P 500 yesterday capped its biggest two-day rally since October after profit at companies from Lexmark International Inc. to D.R. Horton Inc. topped estimates and pending home sales grew. The measure has surged 63 percent since March as governments and central banks around the world sought to encourage growth by maintaining low interest rates and committing more than $12 trillion to stimulate the economy. Mohamed A. El-Erian, whose firm runs the world’s biggest mutual fund, said the largest stock market decline in 11 months may worsen amid persistent U.S. joblessness and economic growth that trails analysts’ forecasts. ISM Data A separate report at 8:15 a.m. may show companies last month cut the fewest jobs in two years. Figures from ADP Employer Services may show private employers cut 30,000 jobs in January, according to the median estimate of economists. Alcoa Alcoa added 1.5 percent to $13.88 in Germany. Copper climbed for a third day as U.S. home and auto sales grew and the dollar dropped, improving the outlook for industrial metals demand. Aluminum, zinc, lead and nickel also climbed. Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold producer, gained 1.8 percent to $36.87 as the precious metal gained for a third day. News Corp. surged 5.6 percent to $13.47. The media company that owns the Twentieth Century Fox film studio and the Wall Street Journal reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and raised its 2010 earnings forecast after “Avatar” broke box-office records. Time Warner Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are among 27 companies on the S&P that are scheduled to report earnings today. Since Jan. 11, about 81 percent of the index’s members have topped the average analyst earnings-per-share estimate, according to Bloomberg data. McDonald’s increased 1.3 percent to $64.88. Goldman Sachs added the world’s largest restaurant company to its “conviction buy” list. --Editors: Jason Carey, David Merritt. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniela Silberstein in Zurich at +41-44-224-4117 or dsilberstei2@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at +44-20-7673-2639 or dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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