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By Bloomberg

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities rose for the first time in four sessions, amid corporate earnings while data showed jobless claims hovered near four-decade lows.

Transocean Ltd. and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. added at least 4.5 percent after posting better-than-estimated results. Mondelez International Inc. climbed 5.2 percent after Pershing Square Capital Management said it has built a stake in the food- and-beverage company valued at about $5.6 billion. Keurig Green Mountain Inc. plunged 28 percent after cutting its sales and profit forecasts.

Standard & Poor’s 500 E-mini contracts expiring in September gained 0.1 percent to 2,096.75 at 8:32 a.m. in New York. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18 points to 17,493.

“It’s the summer lull which is finally here,” said Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer Group in Zurich. “The corporate-earnings season is in full swing and unless that brings a big surprise, the market will be trading in a tight range.”

A report today from the Labor Department showed jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 270,000 in the week ended August 1. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 272,000. The 255,000 reading two weeks earlier was the lowest since November 1973.

Nvidia Corp. is among 14 companies reporting today. About 85 percent of S&P 500 members have already released figures, with three-quarters beating profit estimates and half topping sales projections. Analysts now call for a 2.8 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, shallower than July 10 estimates for a 6.4 percent fall.

Investors are also watching economic reports to gauge when the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates. Friday’s monthly payroll data will be parsed for indications on the likelihood of a September rate increase. The government’s report is projected to show employers took on 225,000 workers last month, while the jobless rate held at a seven-year low of 5.3 percent.

“The next big thing is the September rate hike and the Friday labor data is the indicator for that,” said Gattiker. “If we see a wonderful, strong, bullish labor market report, the market will not take it well because this would immediately then get the September rate hike back on the table.”