Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures swung between gains and losses after housing starts increased last month and claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell, while FedEx Corp. slid after earnings trailed analysts’ estimates. FedEx, the second largest U.S. shipment company, slumped after growth slowed in international express deliveries. Starbucks Corp., the world’s largest coffee-shop operator, climbed 1.3 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended buying the shares. Bank of America Corp. gained after a report it started settlement talks with mortgage investors. Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. slipped as the price of copper fell for a third day. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,232.5 at 9:10 a.m. in New York, a day after the benchmark index retreated from its highest level since September 2008. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were little changed at 11,418 today, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures advanced 0.1 percent to 2,204.25. “The U.S. economy is picking up momentum, despite investors taking a breather yesterday,” Mads Koefoed, a market strategist at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen, said. The S&P 500 slipped yesterday, dragging the index down from a two-year high. A six-day rally had left the benchmark for U.S. stocks trading at 15.5 times reported earnings, its most expensive level since June. Housing Starts Builders in the U.S. began work on more homes in November for the first time in three months, showing the industry is struggling to recover. Housing starts rose to a 555,000 annual rate, up 3.9 percent from October’s 534,000 pace that was higher than initially estimated, Commerce Department figures showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 550,000 pace. The number of U.S. workers filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week, pointing to a labor market that is on the mend. Applications for jobless insurance payments decreased by 3,000 to 420,000, the lowest in three weeks, Labor Department figures showed. Economists in a Bloomberg survey projected a median rise in claims to 425,000. Starbucks climbed 1.3 percent to $32.28 after Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a “conviction buy,” predicting the shares will climb 38 percent. Bank of America, Apple Bank of America rose 1.6 percent to $12.49 in early New York trading after it was said to have begun settlement talks with lawyers representing some of the U.S.’s largest mortgage investors, according to Kathy Patrick, a lawyer for the investors. Apple Inc., the maker of iPods and iPads, climbed 0.2 percent to $321.45 after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its earnings estimates and increased its price estimate to $420 from $400. The bank said Apple will have 61 percent of total tablet computer market sales in 2012. Freeport, the world’s second-largest copper producer, fell 0.3 percent to $111.73 as copper declined for a third day in London after stockpiles expanded and as renewed concern that Europe’s debt crisis may hamper the global economic recovery hurt the outlook for demand. FedEx fell 3.4 percent to $89.26. Fiscal second-quarter profit of $1.16 a share on an adjusted basis trailed the average analyst estimate of $1.32. General Mills Inc. declined 1.3 percent to $35.90. The maker of Cheerios cereal and Progresso soup reported an 8.6 percent gain in second-quarter profit, missing analysts’ projections as costs of raw ingredients increased. --Editor: Michael P. Regan To contact the reporter on this story: Inyoung Hwang at ihwang7@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net.

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