March 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures gained amid speculation the Federal Reserve's policy of raising interest rates may be approaching an end.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, and Caterpillar Inc., the world's biggest maker of earthmoving equipment, advanced in Germany.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June added 1.1 to 1312.1 at 12:29 p.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 6 to 11,330. Nasdaq-100 Index futures climbed 0.5 to 1699.5.

Fed policy makers will raise the benchmark U.S. lending rate a quarter-point to 4.75 percent, the 15th consecutive increase, according to all 105 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

We will be looking ```to see if they give some clearer picture of where rates are going, said Alison Sinclair, who helps oversee $800 million at Britannic Asset Management in Glasgow, Scotland. ``If there were some indication that rate rises were to slow, that would be great for equity markets.''

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is presiding over his first Fed Open Market Committee meeting since succeeding Alan Greenspan in February, and investors will closely watch the Fed's statement for any sign of a shift in direction. The decision is due at around 2:15 p.m. Washington time.

``We are all looking forward to what the Fed has to say,'' said Javier Angulo, head of equity sales in Spain for Banco BPI SA in Madrid. ``Investors aren't worried that there will be any nasty surprises from today's meeting.''

Earnings Growth

Interest-rate futures show the chance of a 5 percent rate at the next meeting on May 10 is 76 percent, down from 88 percent on March 23. Traders lowered their expectations after the Commerce Department last week said sales of new U.S. homes in February fell by the most since 1997.

The S&P 500 has advanced 4.3 percent this year on optimism the economy and earnings will keep expanding without fueling inflation. Members of the index increased profits by 14 percent in the fourth quarter, according to Thomson Financial. Analysts expect earnings growth to reach 12 percent in 2006.

Tiffany & Co. and Paychex Inc. are among S&P 500 companies scheduled to release quarterly earnings today.

Lennar Corp., a member of the S&P 500 and the third-largest U.S. homebuilder by market value, said fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 34 percent on contracts signed before the housing market cooled. The stock didn't trade in Europe.

Tiffany, the world's second largest luxury jewelry retailer, is due to report before the U.S. markets open. Paychex, which provides payroll services for businesses, is scheduled to report after the close of trading. The shares didn't traded in Europe.

Consumer Confidence

Red Hat Inc. slipped 14 cents to $28.66 in Germany. The world's biggest distributor of Linux computer software is also due to report earnings today.

A report before the conclusion of the Fed's meeting may show that consumer confidence rose in March for a fourth month in five as jobs became more plentiful and wages increased. The Conference Board's index of consumer sentiment probably rose to 102 this month from 101.7 in February, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 62 economists.

The Conference Board report is due at 10 a.m. in New York.

Exxon added 17 cents to $61.47. Crude oil traded near a six- week high in New York on speculation a U.S. government report tomorrow will show the nation's gasoline stockpiles fell for a fourth week. Crude oil for May delivery traded at $64.30 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures closed last week at $64.26, the highest since Feb. 6.

Caterpillar gained 38 cents to $75.76.

Hewlett-Packard Slips

Johnson & Johnson, the world's biggest maker of medical devices, gained 12 cents to $60.06 in Germany. Cordis Corp., a Johnson & Johnson unit, said a U.S. District Judge upheld two March 2005 jury verdicts that two of Cordis' patents were valid and infringed by Boston Scientific Corp. and Medtronic Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's No. 2 personal-computer maker, fell 11 cents to $32.99 in Germany. The shares, which have been on a hot streak since the company named Mark Hurd as chief executive officer almost a year ago, may be cooling, the Wall Street Journal said in its ``Heard on the Street'' column.

Host Marriott Corp., owner of hotels including Hyatts, Hiltons and Westins, said it won't buy three Canadian hotels from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., reducing the value of an agreed purchase by $276 million.

Host Marriott said it will now pay about $3.76 billion to acquire properties from Starwood. Host Marriott and Starwood shares didn't trade in Europe.

Some investors have been ditching the shares, arguing that they're becoming too expensive, according to the report.

Yesterday, the S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent to 1301.61 and the Dow average retreated 0.3 percent to 11,250.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 2315.58.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sharon Smyth in Madrid at ssmyth2@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: March 28, 2006 06:33 EST