By Maud van Gaal Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rebound from last week’s decline, as metal prices gained and analysts recommended companies from Alcoa Inc. to Intel Corp. Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, climbed 1.3 percent in German trading after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to “overweight.” Intel Corp. increased after Barclays Capital lifted its rating for the world’s biggest computer-chip maker. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Mosaic Co. advanced more than 1 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised buying the shares, citing the outlook for potash prices. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in March added 0.2 percent to 1,099.40 as of 10:22 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures gained 0.2 percent to 10,286. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 0.3 percent to 1,811.50. Stocks in Europe also rose, while Asian shares declined. After surging as much as 64 percent from a 12-year low on March 9, the S&P 500 has been little changed since mid-October amid concern the economy’s recovery from the worst recession in seven decades won’t be sustained. Reports scheduled for release this week include existing home sales in November and third- quarter personal consumption and gross domestic product. “Markets will probably lack strong direction towards the year-end,” said Dirk Pattyn, a Brussels-based fund manager at Bank Degroof, which manages the equivalent of $36 billion. “We expect U.S. macro numbers scheduled for this week to confirm earlier reports that the economy is recovering.” Weekly Loss Stocks rose on Dec. 18, trimming a weekly loss for the S&P 500, after better-than-estimated profit at Oracle Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd. boosted technology companies. Alcoa gained 1.3 percent to $14.76. The stock was raised to “overweight” at Morgan Stanley, which introduced a $22 share- price estimate for the aluminum maker and said a rally in the metal “should continue” in the first half of 2010. Aluminum for delivery in three months rose as much as 1.1 percent on the London Metal Exchange today. Copper, lead and nickel all increased. Intel Corp. added 0.8 percent to $19.79 in Germany. The stock was raised to “overweight” from “equal weight” at Barclays Capital, which cited “seemingly solid end market conditions, an upward bias to estimates and intriguing valuation” in a report to clients. Potash Corp., the world’s biggest fertilizer producer, was added to the “conviction buy” list at Goldman Sachs, while Mosaic was upgraded to “buy.” Potash advanced 1.2 percent to $106.29. Mosaic, North America’s second-biggest fertilizer maker, rose 1.2 percent to $55.87. ‘Demand Recovery’ “Our view of a fundamental demand recovery in potash in 2010 remains unchanged,” analysts wrote in a report to clients dated Dec. 20. “We believe a near-worst-case scenario on 2010 potash pricing is now discounted in stocks.” Barron’s said Mosaic may rise more than 45 percent in the next two years as prices rebound and earnings increase. Terex Corp., the world’s third-biggest maker of construction equipment, climbed 1.4 percent to $19.49 after agreeing to sell its mining business to Bucyrus International Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash. Bucyrus didn’t trade in Europe. American companies are paying the biggest premiums on record in takeovers, a sign executives are growing more bullish about profits and stocks even after the biggest rally for the S&P 500 in 73 years. The average premium in mergers and acquisitions in which U.S. companies were the buyer and seller rose to 56 percent this year from 47 percent last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Take-Two, Genzyme Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. slipped 2.2 percent to $8.82 in Germany today. Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, the hedge-fund firm run by Philip Falcone, bought a 7 percent stake in the publisher of the “Grand Theft Auto” video games. The stock climbed 9.2 percent in New York on Dec. 18 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn raised its stake to 11 percent. Genzyme Corp. fell 0.9 percent to $48.36 after the world’s largest maker of treatments for rare, genetic diseases was cut to “underweight” from “equal-weight” at Morgan Stanley. The dollar traded near a three-month high against the euro amid signs the economic recovery is accelerating and as concern some European nations may struggle to pay their debts bolstered demand for the U.S. currency. To contact the reporter on this story: Maud van Gaal in Amsterdam at mvangaal@bloomberg.net.

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