May 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose as sales forecasts from Dell Inc. and Nvidia Corp. exceeded estimates, renewing optimism about profit growth. Technology shares including Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. gained in Europe.

``Demand is still holding up very nicely,'' said Andrew Milligan, the Edinburgh, Scotland-based head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments, which oversees about $190 billion. ``There was too much pessimism.''

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index yesterday closed at its lowest this month and has lost almost 2 percent since the start of April, even as companies including Intel Corp. reported better- than-expected earnings. Two-thirds of the 458 companies in the benchmark that have reported have surpassed analysts' estimates, according to a Bloomberg analysis of data from Thomson Financial.

S&P 500 futures expiring in June climbed 2.9 to 1162.1 as of 10 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 19 to 10,207 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 5.5 to 1462.50.

Dell, the largest personal computer maker, advanced 98 cents to $37.59 in German trading. The company said revenue this quarter will be as much as $13.8 billion, topping the average analyst estimate of $13.6 billion in a Thomson Financial survey.

The company made the forecast after reporting a 28 percent increase in first-quarter profit.

``You're seeing evidence now that the technology sector is turning around,'' said Bob Parker, deputy chairman of Credit Suisse Asset Management in London, which manages $335 billion.

Hewlett-Packard, the world's second-largest personal-computer maker, rose 11 cents to $20.26 in Germany. Microsoft, the biggest software maker, climbed 5 cents to $25.05, also in Germany.

Nvidia, Tiffany

Nvidia, the third-biggest maker of computer-graphics chips, added $1.85 to $24.64 in Germany. It said second-quarter sales will at least match the $583.8 million in the previous quarter. That topped the $579.6 million average estimate of 21 analysts.

The chipmaker's first-quarter profit tripled to $64.4 million as revenue increased at the fastest pace in almost three years.

Tiffany & Co., the largest U.S. jewelry retailer, and Delphi Corp., North America's largest auto-parts maker, are two S&P 500 companies that are scheduled to report earnings today. Tiffany didn't trade in Europe, while Delphi added 7 cents to $3.47 in Germany.

A government report may show inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.6 percent in March, capping the biggest quarterly gain in almost five years, according to the median estimate of 57 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That follows a 0.5 percent gain in February. The Commerce Department report is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in Washington.

Economic Reports

Import prices may have increased 0.4 percent last month, the median of 42 economists in a Bloomberg News survey shows. The 1.8 percent advance in March was the highest since January 2003. The Labor Department is expected to issue the report at 8:30 a.m. Washington time.

The University of Michigan's May consumer sentiment index will probably rise for the first month in five to 88.2 from 87.7 in April, according to the median of 58 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The report is due at 9:45 a.m. in New York.

Asian stocks fell for a fifth day. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index, which tracks more than 900 companies, decreased 0.6 percent and is headed for its longest losing stretch in four months. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.3 percent.

U.S. stocks slid yesterday as energy shares plunged on a decline in oil prices. The S&P 500 dropped 1 percent to 1159.36 and the Dow average retreated 1.1 percent to 10,189.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 1963.88.

For the week, the S&P 500 has retreated 1 percent, while the Dow average has slid 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index is down 0.2 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kotaro Miyata in London at kmiyata2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 13, 2005 05:04 EDT