U.S. stock-index futures climbed, indicating the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will advance for a fourth day, amid speculation the economy will continue to recover. Adobe Systems Inc. climbed 4.2 percent in Germany as the top maker of graphic-design programs forecast profit that exceeded analysts’ projections, bolstered by sales of the company’s desktop-publishing software. Jabil Circuit Inc. advanced 5.8 percent as its outlook also topped estimates. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in March gained 0.4 percent to 1,245.8 as of 10:05 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.3 percent to 11,438 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures advanced 0.3 percent to 2,226.25. “There is a very well established cyclical recovery going on in the U.S.,” James McCaughan, chief executive officer of Principal Global Investors LLC, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move” with Francine Lacqua. “The world’s biggest economy will drive a lot of economic activity” elsewhere. U.S. equities have risen for the past three weeks, sending the S&P 500 to a two-year high, as stronger-than-forecast data on retail sales, manufacturing and housing boosted confidence in the economic recovery. The S&P 500 has rallied 12 percent this year as the Federal Reserve expanded a program to buy bonds to stimulate the economy and company earnings beat estimates. Economic Growth U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8 percent annual pace in the third quarter, quicker than the 2.5 percent estimate published last month, the Commerce Department will say tomorrow, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. European stocks advanced for a second day today as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said the world’s second-largest economy “has taken steps to help some European Union members counter the sovereign-debt crisis.” Even so, Moody’s Investors Service placed Portugal’s A1 government-bond ratings on review for possible downgrade. Adobe rose 4.2 percent to $30.40 in German trading. Excluding some costs, fiscal first-quarter profit will be 54 cents to 59 cents a share, San Jose, California-based Adobe said late yesterday in a statement. Analysts had estimated 51 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Jabil Circuit climbed 5.8 percent to $18.68 in Germany as the St. Petersburg, Florida-based electronics manufacturer forecast second-quarter earnings of at least 49 cents a share, exceeding the average of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Paychex Inc. may move as the company that manages payrolls accounting for companies that employ fewer than 100 workers said second-quarter earnings per share excluding some items beat the average analyst estimate by 5.7 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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