Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell as oil prices soared past $70 a barrel to a record after Hurricane Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico, the source of 30 percent of U.S. crude output.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in September fell 8.80 to 1197.10 at 7:20 a.m. in London. Nasdaq 100 Index futures declined 11.5 to 1552. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 76 to 10,331.

``There's no end in sight for the surge in oil prices,'' said Takashi Kamiya, who oversees $16 billion as chief strategist at T&D Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. The hurricane ``won't make it any better and the situation is going to hurt shares.''

Oil had its biggest jump in 29 months as Katrina, one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S., crossed the Gulf, forcing companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to shut operations. Gasoline and heating oil prices also reached records.

Crude oil for October delivery rose as much as 7.1 percent to $70.80 a barrel in electronic after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract recently traded at $69.80.

Katrina was upgraded to Category 5, the most severe on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength. It would be only the fourth storm of that magnitude to hit the U.S. since the government began keeping storm records.

Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and Transocean Inc. have pulled crews from some Gulf rigs. Chevron said it evacuated all of its Gulf of Mexico facilities.

ConocoPhillips, Valero

Amerada Hess Corp. said it was closing most of its Gulf of Mexico facilities as the hurricane approached, affecting output of about 47,000 barrels of oil equivalent. Chevron Corp. shut its oil refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

ConocoPhillips shut its Alliance refinery south of New Orleans and evacuated staff. Devon Energy Corp. shut down its Gulf of Mexico producing platforms, evacuating 260 to 270 workers. Valero Energy Corp. shut down its St. Charles refinery, about 15 miles from New Orleans, which can process 245,000 barrels a day of crude oil.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the biggest U.S. oil import terminal, stopped making pipeline shipments to refineries from its onshore facilities. The port is 20 miles off the coast and handles 1 million barrels of oil a day, or 11 percent of U.S. imports. It consists of mooring buoys, platforms and pipelines.

DuPont, Microsoft

DuPont Co., the second-largest U.S. chemical company, is raising the price of its Elvanol polyvinyl alcohol by 10 cents a pound effective Sept. 1. The company cited ``unprecedented and sustained increases in energy, and petrochemical feedstock and freight costs.''

Microsoft Corp. might gain. The world's biggest software maker's shares may rise as the company introduces new versions of its Xbox game, SQL Server and Windows operating system, the New York Times said in its weekly column on investing.

US Airways Group Inc. may gain. The airline reached an agreement with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. that removes a hurdle to the airline's plan to exit bankruptcy and merge with America West Holdings Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported.

Abbott, Barr

Abbott Laboratories may increase. The pharmaceutical company will replace May Department Stores Co. in the Standard & Poor's 100 Index today. May is being acquired by Federated Department Stores Inc.

Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. might slip. The biggest U.S. maker of birth-control pills said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration delayed a decision on Barr's application to sell the Plan B emergency contraceptive over-the-counter to women older than 16. The company may conduct a new label-comprehension study, the New York Times reported, citing Chief Executive Bruce Downey.

On Aug. 26, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Average recorded their biggest weekly losses in two months, after a University of Michigan report on consumer confidence showed a bigger-than- forecast drop and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said investors are getting too complacent about risk.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 29, 2005 02:43 EDT