U.S. Stock-Index Futures Little Changed Before ISM Data

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose for a third month, as investors awaited the Institute of Supply Management's report on manufacturing in the world's biggest economy.

EBay Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. advanced in premarket New York trading as a report showed online spending on Black Friday rose to a record. Monster Beverage Corp. climbed 2.6 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its rating on the shares. Newmont Mining Corp., the world's second-largest gold producer, slipped 0.8 percent as the precious metal's price declined.

S&P 500 futures expiring this month retreated 0.1 percent to 1,802.7 at 7:25 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts lost 5 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 16,061. U.S. markets closed early on Nov. 29, after the previous day's Thanksgiving holiday.

"Investors today are digesting news of sales during the Thanksgiving holiday period and awaiting the ISM data," said Jacques Porta, who helps oversee $780 million as a fund manager at Ofi Gestion Privee in Paris. "Markets need to have a little rest going into the year end because this year has been fantastic for U.S. stocks."

The S&P 500 dropped 0.1 percent on Nov. 29, trimming its advance last month to 2.8 percent. The benchmark gauge has climbed 27 percent this year, poised for the best annual performance since 1998, after the Federal Reserve refrained from tapering its third round of economic stimulus.

ISM Report

A report at 10 a.m. New York time may show the ISM's index of manufacturing retreated to 55.1 in November, from 56.4 a month earlier, according to the median forecasts of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Readings above 50 signal expansion.

EBay climbed 3 percent to $52.05 and Amazon advanced 0.6 percent to $396 in early New York trading. Online spending on Black Friday rose 15 percent to a record $1.2 billion, according to ComScore Inc. Total e-commerce sales reached $20.6 billion in the first 29 days of the holiday season, the research company said yesterday.

Monster Beverage, the largest U.S. energy-drink maker by sales volume, gained 2.6 percent to $60.70 in premarket trading after JPMorgan raised its recommendation on the shares to overweight, similar to buy, from neutral.

Groupon Inc., the online discount-coupon company, slid 2.4 percent to $8.83 in early New York trading.

Newmont lost 0.8 percent to $24.64 as gold tumbled as much as 1.4 percent, the biggest drop in more than a week.