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By Bloomberg

European stock-index futures fell, after equities climbed to their highest level in almost two months, as investors awaited the European Central Bank's next steps on interest rates and quantitative easing. U.S. index futures were also little changed, while Asian shares fluctuated.

Balfour Beatty Plc may move after agreeing to sell its U.S.-based engineering-consulting unit to Montreal-based WSP Global Inc. and saying it will return some of the proceeds to shareholders. Henderson Group Plc might move as Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the money manager.

Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index expiring this month lost 0.3 percent to 3,207 at 7:07 a.m. in London. Contracts on the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures slipped less than 0.1 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.2 percent.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index has rebounded 6.2 percent from a four-month low on Aug. 8 as ECB President Mario Draghi signaled policy makers are ready to increase stimulus to combat low inflation. The ECB announces its interest-rate decisions at 1:45 p.m. in Frankfurt. Investors would want to see what the central bank says on potential bond purchases. Draghi will hold a press conference 45 minutes after the rate announcements.

Central-bank stimulus has helped the Stoxx 600 rally about 61 percent from a low in September 2011. Since taking over in November of that year, Draghi has pledged to hold borrowing costs low and said in July 2012 he would do "whatever it takes" to save the euro. Three months ago, the ECB took its deposit rate negative for the first time and cut its benchmark rate to a record low of 0.15 percent.

In the U.K., the Bank of England will probably maintain its benchmark rate at 0.5 percent, the level it held since March 2009, according to projections compiled by Bloomberg News.

American Jobs

Investors are also watching U.S. data amid signs that the world's largest economy is strengthening. A report from the ADP Research Institute at 8:15 a.m. New York time may show companies added 220,000 workers in August, economists forecast. The monthly Labor Department jobs report is due tomorrow.

In Germany, factory orders surged in July by the most in more than a year, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said. Orders climbed 4.6 percent, exceeding the 1.5 percent gain projected by analysts.

Balfour Beatty, the British builder which rejected a merger with Carillion Plc last month, may move. WSP Global will buy Parsons Brinckerhoff for $1.24 billion in cash, according to a statement late yesterday. Balfour said it plans to return as much as 200 million pounds ($329 million) of the proceeds to shareholders.

Henderson may be active after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to equal weight, similar to a neutral recommendation, from the equivalent of buy. The stock has dropped 15 percent since a record on April 2 through yesterday.