May 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures dropped after OPEC ministers said oil prices may remain above $30 a barrel, rekindling concern that higher energy costs will crimp corporate profits and limit consumer spending.

Two-thirds of the stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell in Europe, including Intel Corp. and McDonald's Corp.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June slid 5.1 to 1091.50 at 10:24 a.m. in London. Dow futures shed 40 to 9930 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures lost 8 to 1410.

``Companies might be hurt by high oil prices, and the biggest risk is that the consumer might become worried about the price he has to pay for gasoline,'' said Jorik van den Bos, who oversees the equivalent of $1.7 billion in global equities at ING Investment Management. ``OPEC can't increase production enough to compensate for demand.''

Higher energy prices and expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark interest rate next month sent the S&P 500 to its low for the year last Monday. Crude oil futures for July delivery rose to a record $41.72 a barrel yesterday and were recently $41.58 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

``We've sold equities because we see them as too risky right now,'' said Emiel van den Heiligenberg, who oversees the allocation of $97 billion at Fortis Investments. ``Investors are anticipating a rate hike and higher oil prices.''

OPEC ministers have argued that the 42 percent surge in crude prices in the past year stems from conflict in the Middle East and concern about potential gasoline shortages.

``Investors remain concerned about any oil disruptions that might evolve from the transition of power in Iraq,'' said Christine Callies, who helps oversee $41 billion as market strategist at Bessemer Trust Co. ``They want reassurance that none of this stuff is going to disrupt the expansion in the U.S.''

Dow Stocks Drop

Twenty-four of the thirty Dow stocks dropped in European trading, including Intel, the world's largest computer-chip maker, which shed 19 cents to $27.55 in Germany. McDonald's, the No. 1 restaurant chain, slid 5 cents to $25.30 in Germany.

Three Dow stocks trading in Europe rose, including Exxon Mobil Corp., which added 27 cents to $43.07. Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, led an advance by U.S. energy stocks yesterday.

Members including Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela said they want prices at the top end or above the official Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries target of $22 to $28.

OPEC's benchmark crude price today is $37.05 a barrel. The Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said crude at $30 to $34 a barrel in New York reflects the current costs of investing and maintaining oil fields.

SBC, Medtronic

SBC Communications Inc. fell 21 cents to $23.98 in Germany. The second-largest U.S. local-phone company reached an agreement with a labor union over contracts for 100,000 employees who returned to work today after a four-day strike. SBC won't lay off workers during the five-year agreement and will rehire ``several hundred'' workers who had been fired.

Medtronic Inc. rose 65 cents to $48 in Germany. The world's largest maker of devices that regulate heartbeats said after U.S. markets closed that profit excluding certain items was 48 cents a share for the period through April 30, beating the 46-cent average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Novell Inc. fell 57 cents to $9.40 in German trading after the maker of network software said sales of new licenses for the second quarter were $60.3 million, below the $64.5 million estimate of Brendan Barnicle, analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.

Computer Associates International Inc. may be active. The world's fifth-largest software maker is expected to report a fourth-quarter profit of 17 cents a share, up from 8 cents in the year-ago period, before some gains and losses, based on Thomson Financial estimates.

Heinz

H.J. Heinz Co., the largest ketchup maker, may today report that fourth-quarter profit rose to 58 cents a share before some gains or losses, based on estimates from IBES, a unit of Thomson Financial. Heinz is due to report before U.S. markets open. The shares didn't trade in Europe.

Reports on U.S. consumer confidence and real-estate sales are set for release at 10 a.m. Washington time.

Consumer confidence in the world's biggest economy probably rose for a second straight month in May as payrolls expanded, and April resales of houses are forecast to have held at the second highest pace on record, surveys of economists showed.

Confidence, Home Sales

The New York-based Conference Board's gauge of sentiment may increase to 94 this month, the highest since January, compared with 92.9 in April, according to the median forecast of 60 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The index averaged 103 during the record expansion from 1991-2001.

The National Association of Realtors in Washington may report that 6.45 million houses were resold in April at an annual rate, compared with 6.48 million the month before. The March pace was second to the record 6.68 million in September, and the pace already has exceeded 6 million for nine months.

The Commerce Department may report Thursday that another measure of inflation rose by the most since the second quarter of 2001. The GDP price deflator increased 2.5 percent in the first three months of the year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

Consumer prices in the first four months of the year rose at a 4.4 percent annual rate, compared with a 3 percent gain for the same period last year, the government said on May 14.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure of inflation watched by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and other policy makers and tied to spending, probably rose at a 3.9 percent annual pace in the first quarter, according to a median estimate of 12 economists. The report will be released on Thursday.

The S&P 500 yesterday rose 1.85, or 0.2 percent, to 1095.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.31, or 0.1 percent, to 9958.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 10.89, or 0.6 percent, to 1922.98.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margo Towie in Brussels at mtowie@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 25, 2004 05:38 EDT