U.S. Index Futures Advance Before Shortened Trading Day

U.S. stock-index futures increased, indicating the Standard & Poor's 500 Index may extend a record in today's shortened trading session, before economic reports next week.

Apple Inc. climbed 0.8 percent in early New York trading after a report showed the company sold three of every four smartphones in Japan last month. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. rose 0.5 percent in European trading after Australia blocked a A$2.2 billion ($2 billion) takeover of GrainCorp Ltd.

S&P 500 futures expiring in December advanced 0.3 percent to 1,809.10 at 7:20 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 51 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,125. The S&P 500 climbed 27 percent this year, and the Dow gained 23 percent, after the Federal Reserve refrained from tapering its third round of economic stimulus.

"Investors are waiting for indications on when tapering may come," said Ioan Smith, strategist at KCG Europe Ltd. "The minutes revealed a wide-ranging discussion of various policy scenarios and contingencies. It is still the case that there's not enough sustained evidence to meet the taper criteria as soon as next month."

The S&P 500 and the Dow closed at records on Nov. 27, as jobless claims unexpectedly declined and a measure of consumer confidence beat estimates. U.S. markets were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday and trading in the New York Stock Exchange will end at 1 p.m. local time today.

Fed Minutes

Minutes of the last Fed meeting released on Nov. 20 showed that officials are considering scaling back their $85 billion in monthly bond purchases "in coming months" if the economy improves as anticipated.

Investors will await reports on manufacturing and home sales next week, and the November release of non-farm payrolls on Dec. 6. Janet Yellen, who will replace Ben S. Bernanke as chairman of the Fed, has said she will ensure monetary stimulus isn't removed too soon to support economic recovery in the U.S. There are no economic reports scheduled for today.

Apple rose 0.8 percent to $550.30 in early New York trading. The company accounted for 76 percent of smartphone sales in Japan last month after the country's largest carrier, NTT Docomo Inc., began offering the iPhone, market researcher Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said yesterday.

ADM (ADM) rose 0.5 percent to $41.69 in European composite trading. Australia's rejection of the agricultural commodities producer's takeover prompted a record 22 percent drop in GrainCorp, the biggest crop handler on Australia's east coast, and a slide in the local currency.

"This proposal has attracted a high level of concern from stakeholders and the broader community," Treasurer Joe Hockey said today, ruling U.S.-based ADM's bid of A$12.20 a share isn't in the national interest. "Now is not the right time for a 100 percent foreign acquisition of this key Australian business."