U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may extend its biggest December rally since 1991, on speculation that economic growth will accelerate next year. Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender by assets, and Chevron Corp., the second-largest energy producer in the country, were among Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks that climbed in Europe. March contracts on the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 1,256.8 as of 11:27 a.m. in London. Dow futures climbed 0.2 percent to 11,527, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 0.3 percent to 2,232.5. “We are going to have more of the same next year,” said Thomas Steinemann, chief strategist at Vontobel Asset Management Ltd. in Zurich, whose parent company manages about $80 billion. “There is enormous fiscal stimulus. Where it all leads is another question but the surprise is probably on the upside for the economy and for equities.” The S&P 500 has rallied 6.6 percent this month, rising above the 1,251.70 close on Sept. 12, 2008, the last trading day before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed the world’s biggest bankruptcy and prompted a 46 percent drop for the benchmark gauge through March 2009. Spur Growth The index has surged 20 percent since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke suggested on Aug. 27 that he was prepared to purchase more bonds to spur economic growth, a second round of quantitative easing that the central bank eventually announced in November, while President Barack Obama this month agreed to extend tax cuts to aid the recovery. The S&P 500 may end 2011 at 1,374, or 9.2 percent higher than yesterday’s close, according to the average of 11 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Trading volumes dipped this week as a snowstorm hit the U.S. east coast after the Christmas holiday break. About 468 million shares changed hands on the NYSE Dec. 27, the fewest for a full-day session since May 1998, while 560 million shares were traded in yesterday’s session. As many as 1.2 million airline customers may have been affected by almost 8,000 flight cancellations as the storm that hit three days ago closed major airports. Reports tomorrow may provide more evidence about the strength of the economic recovery. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. may report that businesses in the U.S. expanded in December for a 15th consecutive month, while pending sales of previously owned homes probably rose 2 percent in November from the prior month, according to Bloomberg surveys of economists. Bank of America rose 0.7 percent to $13.43 in European composite trading today. Chevron advanced 0.5 percent to $91.61 in Germany. Hemispherx Biopharma Inc. may be active. The Philadelphia- based maker of a treatment for genital warts said that it will restate financial statements for this year and last. The shares didn’t trade in Europe. To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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