By Craig Trudell March 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures advanced, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may gain for a sixth day, as a smaller-than-estimated loss of jobs bolstered confidence the economic recovery is strengthening. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Google Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. climbed at least 1 percent to help lead gains as the Labor Department said payrolls dropped by 36,000 last month, compared with a decrease of 68,000 estimated in a survey of economists. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and Alcoa Inc. climbed as metal prices increased. TiVo Inc. advanced 8.4 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. advised buying the shares. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in March rose 0.6 percent to 1,129.3 as of 8:52 a.m. in New York. The benchmark index has risen 1.7 percent this week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 52 points, or 0.5 percent, to 10,483 and Nasdaq- 100 Index futures added 0.6 percent to 1,870.5. The S&P 500 has rallied 66 percent from a 12-year low almost a year ago as the economy returned to growth following a yearlong contraction. The gains have been led by a 140 percent rally in financial shares, while consumer-discretionary and industrial companies have almost doubled. The advance trimmed the S&P 500’s drop from a 2007 record to 28 percent. U.S. stocks advanced yesterday, sending the S&P 500 to a fifth straight gain, following analyst upgrades, a jump in retail sales and reports showing improvement in jobless claims and productivity. “We’re in the middle of a strong acceleration of growth,” Stefan Keitel, who oversees $140 billion in assets as chief investment officer at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Frankfurt, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Corporations are in pretty good shape and that’s a supporting picture for equity markets.” Ronald Mushock, who runs the $3.5 billion North American Relative Value Fund for Nordea Bank AB, is buying shares in companies most tied to economic growth, betting that earnings will drive equities higher as the recovery gathers pace. The fund, which outperformed the U.S. market last year, is “overweight” on so-called consumer cyclicals, technology and basic materials stocks and “slightly overweight” financials. Of the 469 companies that reported earnings since Jan. 11, 75 percent have beaten expectations, fueling a 6.3 percent rebound in the S&P 500 from this year’s low last month. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said yesterday he needs evidence of “highly sustainable” growth before supporting tighter monetary policy, while James Bullard of the St. Louis Fed said the central bank should remain “accomodative.” Freeport-McMoRan, the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, gained 1.2 percent to $79.79. Alcoa climbed 0.5 percent to $13.50. Copper advanced as China said it will increase state reserves and stockpiles fell, easing concerns that supply may outpace demand. Lead, nickel and tin prices also rose on the London Metals Exchange. TiVo, a pioneer of digital-video recording services, gained 8.4 percent to $17.92 in New York pre-market trading. JPMorgan upgraded the shares to “overweight” from “neutral.” Marvell Technology Group Ltd., the maker of processors for the BlackBerry phone, slumped 1.8 percent to $19.76 in pre- market trading in New York after fourth-quarter revenue grew less that some analysts had predicted. To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Trudell in New York at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net.

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