Stocks, S&P 500 Futures Rise on Takeovers as Yen Drops

LONDON (Sept 3)  Brent crude rose and stocks in Turkey and Israel extended declines after RIA Novosti reported the detection of a missile launch in the Mediterranean. Standard& Poor’s 500 Index futures pared gains and the yen weakened against the dollar.

Crude climbed 0.5 percent to $114.90 a barrel at 10:48 a.m. in London. Benchmark equity gauges in Turkey and Israel lost more than 1 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent. S&P 500 futures rose 0.8 percent following yesterday’s Labor Day holiday in the U.S. Japan’s currency slid 0.2 percent versus the dollar and India’s rupee tumbled 2.9 percent. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes jumped four basis points to 2.83 percent.

Russia said two missiles appeared to be headed toward the east Mediterranean, state-run news service RIA reported, citing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaking to President Vladimir Putin. Stocks gained earlier as takeovers bolstered investor confidence.

"It’s a reminder that we live with uncertainty about how events in the Middle East will play out over the coming days and weeks,” said Kit Juckes, a global strategist at Societe Generale SA in London.

Two of the U.S. Senate’s most vocal critics of President Barack Obama’s Syria policy urged their colleagues to back use of military force, while saying the president has yet to fully explain his strategy.

Israel’s TA-25 Index and Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index both slid 1.2 percent.