Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index poised to extend its second straight weekly gain, after sales and profit topped analyst estimates at Dell Inc., Tiffany & Co. and J.Crew Group Inc.

Dell climbed 4.2 percent, adding to yesterday’s 6.7 percent surge that followed the early release of quarterly results from the second-biggest maker of personal computers. Tiffany, the world’s second-largest luxury jeweler, gained 7.3 percent. J.Crew Group, the clothing retailer, advanced 8.2 percent. The trio joined the 72.2 percent of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies whose second-quarter results beat the average analyst estimate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

S&P 500 futures expiring in September advanced 0.4 percent to 1,033 at 8:33 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,591.

“The economy is picking up worldwide,” said Hans-Willi Brand, portfolio manager and founder of HWB Capital Management, where he has about $430 million in assets under management. “There have been some very positive indicators.”

Investors are buying stocks even after the S&P 500’s 52 percent rally since March drove the index’s valuation to 19 times the operating earnings of its companies from the past year, the most expensive level since 2004. The index is up 0.5 percent this week after better-than-estimated consumer confidence and home prices prompted bets that the recession is ending.

U.S. Mimics Japan

U.S. stocks are behaving like Japanese equities in the 1990s, meaning the S&P 500 index may return 40 percent in the next year, according to Bank of America Corp.

“Even in economies overcoming credit booms, rallies can be powerful and last much longer than you think,” Bank of America’s Sadiq Currimbhoy, Arik Reiss and Jacky Tang wrote in an Aug. 26 report. Should the similarity between the U.S. and Japan persist, the S&P 500 will keep rising, partly because of gains in the dollar, the Hong Kong-based strategists said.

Benchmark 10-year Treasuries briefly extended their decline after the Commerce Department said consumer spending in the U.S. rose in July as households took advantage of the government’s “cash-for-clunkers” program. The 0.2 percent gain in purchases was in line with forecasts and followed a 0.6 percent increase in June. Incomes were unchanged, causing the savings rate to decrease.

At 10 a.m., Reuters/University of Michigan figures may show the index of consumer sentiment dropped to 64 from 66 in July, based on the Bloomberg survey median. The measure would be up from a preliminary reading of 63.2 issued earlier this month.

Dell’s Accident

Dell gained 4.2 percent to $16.30 after reporting second- quarter profit of 28 cents a share, excluding some expenses. Analysts had predicted 22 cents on average, according to a Bloomberg survey. The company accidentally posted the earnings report on its Web site early, causing the stock to jump in the final 20 minutes of trading yesterday.

Almost three-quarters of S&P 500 companies that have reported results beat the average analyst estimate for second- quarter per-share profits, while earnings dropped 29 percent, according to Bloomberg data.

Tiffany rose 7.3 percent to $36.20. The company reported second-quarter earnings excluding some items of 39 cents a share, 17 percent higher than the average analyst estimate. Sales of $612.5 million were 2 percent higher than the average estimate.

J.Crew added 8.2 percent to $35.44. The retailer had a second-quarter profit of 29 cents a share, almost double the average analyst estimate. Revenue increased 6.3 percent to $357.6 million.

American International Group Inc. gained 10 percent to $52.83 after Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche told the Wall Street Journal he may wait as long as three years before selling two overseas life insurance units.

The insurer may be unable to repay the government’s $182.5 billion bailout if it sells American International Assurance Co. and American Life Insurance Co. at today’s market levels, Benmosche told the newspaper in an interview in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net. Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 28, 2009 08:36 EDT