US stock index futures climb after two-week drop

NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters): US stock index futures rose on Monday, after a two-day decline pushed the S&P 500 back into negative territory for the year, as investors anticipated the start of the corporate earnings season.

US stocks fell on last Friday after the December jobs report painted a mixed picture of the economy, giving the benchmark S&P index its second straight weekly decline. Since hitting a record high on December 29, the index has fallen 2.2 per cent on concerns about global growth and falling oil prices.

Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to grow by 4 per cent over the year-ago period, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Alcoa is scheduled to post quarterly earnings after the closing bell, with financials JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup due to report later in the week. Dow component Intel Corp is expected to post earnings on Thursday.

NPS Pharmaceuticals jumped 8.7 per cent to $45.55 in premarket trading after Shire Plc agreed to acquire the company for $5.2 billion. US-listed shares of Shire fell 1.6 per cent to $214.

Foundation Medicine surged 106.1 per cent to $49.31 after Roche Holding agreed to take a majority stake in the company for up to $1.18 billion.

Johnson & Johnson boosted its research efforts in Alzheimer's by striking a deal potentially worth up to $509 million with unlisted Swiss biotech firm AC Immune to develop so-called anti-tau vaccines.

Bristol-Myers Squibb climbed 5.6 per cent to $63.68 in premarket trade after the company said the independent data monitoring committee concluded that a late stage study evaluating its Opdivo lung cancer drug met its endpoint.