Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. index futures fell after jobless claims rose more than estimated and durable goods orders unexpectedly declined. The yen weakened as Standard & Poor’s downgraded Japan’s debt, Egyptian shares tumbled as anti- government protests continued. Futures on the S&P 500 Index lost 0.2 percent at 8:55 a.m. in New York. The MSCI World Index added 0.1 percent. The yen weakened against its main counterparts and Egypt’s EGX 30 Index sank 11 percent, the most since 2008. Ireland’s 10-year bond yield rose 13 basis points. Copper advanced 1.5 percent. NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said their stock exchanges in the U.S. will open on time following a snowstorm in New York. Applications for jobless benefits increased by 51,000 to 454,000 in the week ended Jan. 22, Labor Department figures showed today. Orders for U.S. durable goods fell 2.5 percent. Japan’s credit rating was cut by one step to AA- on concern Prime Minister Naoto Kan hasn’t done enough to curb the world’s largest debt load, S&P said. The Federal Reserve said yesterday it will keep stimulus measures, while economists predict a report tomorrow will show U.S. growth accelerated. “There’s nothing in the economic numbers that could change my view that we’re in gradual recovery process,” said David Kelly, who helps oversee $445 billion as chief market strategist for JPMorgan Funds in New York. “Jobless claims disappointed. Looking overseas, if you’re scanning for black swans, Japan would be something to look at. I don’t see a huge impact right now, but people will be skittish given their big fiscal issues.” U.S. Economy The decline in U.S. futures indicated the Dow Jones Industrial Average will retreat after yesterday climbing above 12,000 for the first time since June 2008. The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 1.5 percent increase in total durable-goods orders. Economists predicted 405,000 claims, according to a Bloomberg survey. The National Association of Realtors may say pending home sales rose 1 percent in December after a 3.5 percent gain the prior month, according to a survey of economists. Qualcomm Inc. climbed 6 percent after sales and profit topped estimates. Caterpillar Inc. gained 2.6 percent after net income jumped fourfold, more than analysts estimated. Starbucks Corp. fell 2 percent in pre-market trading after forecasting profit that missed analysts’ estimates as it projected paying more for coffee. E*Trade Financial Corp. declined 2.7 percent in Germany after reporting a loss. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed, erasing a 0.6 percent advance. AstraZeneca Plc rallied 1.4 percent as the drugmaker reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates. Novartis AG slid 2 percent after earnings declined. Nokia, H&M Nokia Oyj, the world’s biggest mobile-phone maker, sank 5.4 percent after Executive Officer Stephen Elop signaled “significant challenges” in its fight against iPhones and Androids. Hennes & Mauritz AB, Europe’s second-largest clothing retailer, tumbled 6.7 percent after reporting a bigger-than- forecast drop in profit as rising cotton prices and the euro’s weakness eroded margins. Cotton jumped 3.3 percent in New York. The yen depreciated 0.9 percent against the dollar, after sliding as much as 1.3 percent, and declined 1.1 percent versus the euro. The Australian dollar weakened against all except one of its 16 most traded counterparts after Prime Minister Julia Gillard instated a one-time levy to help pay for reconstruction after recent floods. “The downgrade does matter because it reflects the on- going decline of sovereign creditworthiness across the globe,” Kit Juckes, London-based head of foreign-exchange research at Societe Generale SA, said in an e-mail. “A period of generic risk aversion is possible.” Default Risk Egypt’s EGX 30 index sank to the lowest level on a closing basis since July 2009 and the nation’s currency weakened 0.4 percent versus the dollar to a six-year low as protests against President Hosni Mubarak persisted. The price of credit-default swaps tied to the government’s debt rose 38 basis points to 383, the most expensive since May 2009, according to CMA. Yields on the country’s dollar bonds maturing in 2020 jumped 30 basis points to 6.28 percent, the highest since the debt was issued in April, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Treasuries fell, sending the 10-year note yield up two basis points to 3.43 percent. The government sells $29 billion of seven-year notes today, the last of three auctions this week. The extra yield, or spread, investors demand to hold Irish 10-year bonds instead of benchmark German bunds increased 10 basis points, with the Greek-German 10-year spread widening three basis points. ‘Stuck in Recession’ S&P said in a statement that it sees Spain, Ireland, Greece and Portugal “stuck in recession,” forecasting a “three-speed recovery” in Western European economies, with Germany and Finland growing the fastest. Billionaire investor George Soros said European countries such as Ireland and Greece can’t wait until 2013 to restructure their sovereign debt. Soros spoke in a television interview today with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Copper rose for a second day in London on speculation U.S. interest rates near zero will buoy demand for industrial metals. Oil slipped 0.4 percent to $87.02 a barrel. The S&P GSCI index rose 0.3 percent after climbing 1.9 percent yesterday, the most in two months. --With assistance from Claudia Carpenter, David Merritt, Michael Patterson, Daniel Tilles and Steve Voss in London. Editors: Stephen Kirkland, Guy Collins To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Sillitoe at psillitoe@bloomberg.net.

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