US stock-index futures rise amid China industrial production data

US stock-index futures advanced, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend the longest winning streak in almost two months, as data showed Chinese industrial production and retail sales rose for the month of August.

S&P 500 futures expiring this month advanced 0.5% to 1,677.2 at 11:35 a.m. in London and contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 77 points, or 0.5%, to 15,113. The S&P 500 gained for a fifth day yesterday and the Dow surged the most in two months as China’s exports topped forecasts and acquisitions fueled optimism in the US economy.

“China has been a bit choppy lately, and better demand there would surely help the global recovery,” said for Bloomberg Nils Rosendahl, a senior analyst at Nordea Markets in Stockholm. “We have a positive view on the U.S. Data should continue to come in above expectations, so we believe the market should hold until year-end.”

China’s industrial output rose 10.4% in August from a year earlier and retail sales gained 13.4%, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. The advance in industrial production exceeded the median estimate for 9.9% growth in a Bloomberg survey and a 9.7% increase in July. The retail-sales figure compared with a projection for 13.3% advance and a 13.2% gain the previous month.

President Barack Obama has an address scheduled tonight on the case for U.S. military strikes against Syria. New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report today that the Syrian government is the probable perpetrator of a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds of people in the suburbs of Damascus.

In corporate world, Apple gained 0.4% to $508. The company will update its flagship iPhone product, adding more colors and a less-expensive model, at an event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters today, a person with knowledge of the plans said last month.

Neurocrine Biosciences lost 28% to $12.10 in early New York trading. The company said a 50 milligram dose of NBI-98854 failed to meet the primary endpoint in a study for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia, while a 100 milligram dose showed a statistical and clinically significant improvement.