By Michael P. Regan April 30 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stock-index pared gains after a government report showed the economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in June rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,205.8 at 8:32 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 4 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,139 after gaining as much as 0.2 percent earlier. European Commission President Jose Barroso said today that he is confident a rescue package for the Greek government will be completed “in days.” The International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Union are making rapid progress on the package, he said. Also today, figures from Reuters/University of Michigan may show measures of consumer confidence diverged this month. The group’s sentiment gauge probably fell to 71 from 73.6 in March, according to a survey median. A similar report this week from the Conference Board, a New York research group, showed confidence climbed to the highest level since September 2008. Goldman Sachs tumbled 3.4 percent to $154.75 in New York. Bank of America cut its recommendation to “neutral” from “buy,” citing media reports indicating federal prosecutors are investigating the firm. Bank of America also slashed its price estimate on the shares to $160 from $220, according to a report dated today. Goldman Investigation Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating transactions by Goldman Sachs, accused of misleading investors by U.S. securities regulators, to determine whether to pursue a criminal fraud case, according to two people familiar with the matter. U.S. stocks rallied yesterday, sending benchmark indexes up the most since at least March, as better-than-estimated earnings at companies from Motorola Inc. to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. added to evidence the economy is strengthening. The S&P 500 has rallied 78 percent from a 12-year low in March 2009 as earnings returned to growth following a record nine-quarter slump and the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low to safeguard the recovery from recession. Profit at companies in the S&P 500 surged 176 percent during the final three months of 2009, the most in Bloomberg data going back to 1998, and analysts estimate a 44 percent increase for the first quarter of 2010. Earnings estimates for companies in the index rose 9.1 percent on average in April, the largest monthly increase since at least 2006. Income for the first three months of this year is beating estimates at nearly the fastest rate ever, with 77.8 percent of the companies that have reported topping projections. That compares with 79.5 percent in the third quarter and 72.3 percent in the period before that.
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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Pare Gain After GDP Growth Is Less Than Forecast
