European Stock-Index Futures Rise; Xstrata, Barclays May Move

European stock-index futures rose, indicating the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index may trim its weekly decline, as metals rallied. U.S. futures were little changed before a report that may show payrolls fell in August.

Xstrata Plc and Kazakhmys Plc might follow gains in Asian mining companies. Deutsche Telekom AG will probably be active after the Financial Times said the telephone company is in talks to sell its T-Mobile U.K. unit. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Barclays Plc may move as filings showed the U.K. banks cut lending even after promising the government to give more credit to borrowers.

Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark index for the euro region, advanced 0.5 percent to 2,710 at 7:14 a.m. in London. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may rise 20, according to Cantor Index.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 has fallen 2.9 percent to 230.68 this week on concern that a six-month, 46 percent rally has outpaced the prospects for earnings and economic growth. The regional gauge is valued at 44.11 times profit, near the highest level since September 2003, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists raised their year-end forecast for the Stoxx 600 to 260 from 235, citing upgrades to economic and earnings growth estimates.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.1 percent. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities rose yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, as chain stores from Costco Wholesale Corp. to Gap Inc. reported sales that beat estimates.