U.S. Stock Futures Climb As Spanish Two-Year Yields Rise

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U.S. equity-index futures rose, while Spain’s two-year note yield increased. Standard CharteredPlc tumbled the most in four years after a U.S. regulator said the lender may face suspension of business activities.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.3 percent at 9:45 a.m. in London. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose less than 0.1 percent, after advancing as much as 0.6 percent. Standard Chartered slumped 16 percent, the most since October 2008. The Spanish two-year yield jumped 24 basis points and the German 10- year yield increased three basis points. The euro strengthened 0.1 percent to $1.2417. Soybeans climbed 1.3 percent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed a bond-buying plan announced last week by the European Central Bank, a spokesman said yesterday. Reports today will probably show factory orders in Germany dropped, while Italy’s economy contracted in the second quarter, according to Bloomberg surveys of economists.

“The risk of the euro being abandoned has been reduced quite substantially,” said Khiem Do, Hong Kong-based head of Asian multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management (Asia) Ltd., which oversees about $8 billion. “That’s allowed risk assets to be re-priced.”

Standard Chartered slid for a second day after a New Yorkregulator said it may stop the bank from doing business in the state because it handled transactions for Iranian institutions that are sanctioned by the U.S.

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