U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index yesterday completed its recovery from the six-month plunge that followed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse in September 2008. Nike Inc. fell 5.7 percent in Germany after reporting orders that missed some analysts’ estimates. Xilinx Inc. retreated 4.8 percent after the chipmaker said third-quarter sales will decline more than it had previously forecast because of weak demand. Tibco Software Inc. rose 3.7 percent after reporting earnings that beat estimates. March contracts on the S&P 500 added less than 0.1 percent to 1,250.8 as of 10:46 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 will end 2011 at 1,374, according to the average forecast of 11 strategists at Wall Street’s biggest banks, producing the biggest three-year rally since 1997-2000. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were unchanged at 11,471 today, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures dropped 0.1 percent to 2,233.25. “There’s no need to be overly pessimistic, but a consolidation is possible at the beginning of next year,” said Markus Steinbeis, head of equity portfolio management at the Unterfoehring, Germany-based unit of Pioneer Investments KGmbH, which oversees about $221 billion globally. “I don’t expect much volatility towards the end of the year unless we get extremely bad news. Volumes are limited.” The S&P 500 erased losses after plunging 46 percent through March 2009 as the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 fueled the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, causing banks worldwide to book writedowns of more than $1.8 trillion. U.S. GDP Estimate The U.S. economy, the world’s largest, grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed before a Commerce Department report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. That’s more than the 2.5 percent the government estimated last month. Another report may show sales of existing homes increased to a 4.75 million annual rate, up 7.1 percent from October, according to the median of 70 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release the sales figures at 10 a.m. in Washington. Nike, Xilinx Nike slumped 5.7 percent to $87.03 in German trading. The world’s largest maker of athletic shoes said orders for December to April rose 11 percent for a total of $7.7 billion, excluding currency fluctuations, from a year ago. That missed the 11.6 percent gain projected by the average of five analysts’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Xilinx lost 4.8 percent to $27.03 in Germany. The company, based in San Jose, California, said third-quarter revenue will fall as much as 9 percent from the previous three months. Xilinx had previously said revenue would fall as much as 4 percent. The new prediction indicates sales of as little as $563.9 million in the quarter. Analysts had estimated revenue of $606.9 million, according to the average projection in a Bloomberg survey. Tibco Software gained 3.7 percent to $21.96 as the software company said fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share exceeded analyst estimates by 3 cents and announced a $300 million stock repurchase plan. To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Cruz in Frankfurt at jcruz6@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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