Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

U.S. stock-index futures advanced, indicating that the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will pare its biggest weekly loss in two months, as investors awaited a report that may show job growth accelerated last month.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. jumped 4.2 percent after people with knowledge of the matter said the drugmaker is in talks to sell itself to Actavis Plc. Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. climbed after regulators granted orphan status to the company's pancreatic-cancer drug. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. lost 4.4 percent after Nomura Holdings Inc. recommended selling the stock.\

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December rose 0.5 percent to 1,947.5 at 10:42 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has slid 1.9 percent this week, hurt by concern the European Central Bank's asset-buying plan won't be enough to revive the region's economy. Ukraine tensions and the possibility that the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program will end this month also weighed on equities.

Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,783.

"The ECB did not make very supportive statements, and these are reasons why the market tanked a bit," said Andreas Lipkow, a senior market strategist at Kliegel & Hafner AG in Berlin. "Today's unemployment report will be very interesting because it'll be either very supportive for the outlook on the economy or confirm the more bearish situation. The focus of the market is also shifting to earnings as the third quarter starts."

Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicks off the next earnings season as it reports quarterly results on Oct. 8.

Economists in a Bloomberg News survey predict American employers hired 215,000 workers in September, compared with a worse-than-estimated 142,000 in August that was the smallest gain this year. The Labor Department report is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Data from the ADP Research Institute showed this week that U.S. companies employed more workers last month than economists predicted.

Salix rallied 4.2 percent to $157.45. Though no deal is imminent, an agreement between Salix and Actavis has become more likely in the past week, the people said. Botox maker Allergan Inc.'s effort to acquire Salix stalled in recent days over valuation concerns, they said.

Halozyme added 4.9 percent to $9.45. The Food and Drug Administration said the company's treatment for pancreatic cancer received orphan-drug designation, which gives drugmakers exclusive marketing rights as an incentive to develop products that may benefit only a small patient population.

Cliffs retreated 4.4 percent to $9.56. Nomura cut its rating to reduce, the equivalent of a sell, from buy.