Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures swung between gains and losses amid speculation the six-month rally in equities may have outpaced the prospects for earnings and economic growth. Procter & Gamble Co. rose 1.3 percent after Citigroup Inc. recommended buying the shares. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. dropped 1.2 percent as metals prices slid in London and copper stockpiles in Shanghai climbed to the highest level since 2004. Palm Inc. sank 2 percent after the mobile-phone company backed by private-equity firm Elevation Partners reported its ninth straight loss. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December added 0.1 percent to 1,064.20 at 6:55 a.m. in New York, after slipping as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The benchmark measure for U.S. equities has risen 2.2 percent this week, a second straight gain. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 0.1 percent to 9,746 today. Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 0.1 percent to 1,722. “Equities are a bit expensive,” said Karsten Schroeder, chairman and chief executive officer of Amplitude Capital AG, which oversees about $1 billion for clients. “The rally that we’ve seen has been quite massive and this is not supported by the fundamentals in the U.S. as well as Europe. I would be careful with an overweight in equities,” he told Bloomberg Television in an interview. The 57 percent rebound in the S&P 500 from its 12-year low on March 9 has pushed valuations in the index to about 19.7 times the reported earnings from continuing operations of its companies, the highest level since 2004, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg. Quadruple Witching U.S. stocks fell yesterday, pulling benchmark indexes down from 11-month highs, after FedEx Corp. and Oracle Corp. reported sales that missed analysts’ estimates. Price swings and trading volume may be greater than average today because futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expire at the close of trading. So-called quadruple witching occurs once every three months. Procter & Gamble was raised to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup, which lifted its price estimate to $66 from $54 and said in a report the world’s largest consumer-goods company “is readying itself to become more aggressive in order to win back lost market share.” The shares climbed 1.3 percent to $56.27 in pre-market New York trading. Copper Stockpiles Freeport-McMoRan declined 1.2 percent to $70.63 in Germany. Shanghai copper stockpiles climbed 7 percent this week to the highest since April 2004, the Shanghai Futures Exchange said in a report on its Web site. Copper slid 2 percent in London. Palm sank 2 percent to $14.14 after reporting a loss because of costs to develop and market the three-month- old Pre. The first-quarter net loss widened to $164.5 million from $41.9 million a year ago. Palm also gave a sales forecast for the next three months that missed analysts’ estimates. Charles Schwab Corp. dropped 3.8 percent to $17.07 in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its recommendation for the largest independent brokerage by client assets to “sell” from “neutral,” citing concern low interest rates may hamper the company’s revenue growth. Chevron Corp. added 0.6 percent to $72.40 in early New York trading. The oil company was raised to “outperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse Group AG, which increased its price estimate on the shares to $80 from $70. BlackRock Inc. Chairman Laurence Fink said Obama administration programs to help homeowners stave off foreclosure may hinder the recovery of the mortgage market while benefiting banks that own second loans on the properties. “I am just very worried,” Fink said yesterday in an interview in New York. “How do we get a vibrant securitization market back when we are doing these things in the short run that are good for the banking system and good for the homeowner but not as good as it should be?” To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.

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