(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures pointed to a lower start on Monday as a steep decline in Chinese stocks dented investor confidence.
At 8:16 am ET, the S&P 500 futures fell 7.80 points to 1019.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 73 points to 9463. The Nasdaq Composite futures retreated 11 points to 1631.50.
Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE:
BHI) announced on Monday that it will buy BJ Services Co. (NYSE:
BJS) in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $5.5 billion. The acquisition is expected to produce $75 million in cost savings for Baker Hughes in 2010 and $150 million in 2011, and add to earnings per share in 2011.
US chemical maker Huntsman Inc. (NYSE:
HUN) has offered to pay about $415 million for Tronox Inc.'s titanium dioxide and electrolytics businesses. Texas-based Huntsman Inc. said Monday it has signed a "stalking horse" agreement with Oklahoma City-based Tronox Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection in January.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine Sunday showed that AstraZeneca Plc’s (NYSE:
AZN) experimental clot-fighting drug Brilinta is 16% more effective in reducing the heart attacks, strokes and deaths than standard therapy with Sanofi-Aventis SA’s (NYSE:
SNY) and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Plavix.
The Semiconductor Industry Association said Monday that worldwide sales of semiconductors in July dropped 18.2% from a year earlier to $18.2 billion, but climbed 5.3% compared to June, according to data released Monday by .
On the economic front, Chicago purchasing managers' index for August is due for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Elsewhere, in Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday that industrial production increased 1.9% in July from the previous month.
US stocks finished mixed on Friday as investors preferred to remain cautious despite an improved outlook from Intel Corp.
European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. At 13:00 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 39.55 points or 0.81% to 4,908.90. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 0.68% and o.70% respectively.
Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 fell 41.61 points or 0.40% to 10,492.53. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong dropped 374.43 points or 1.86% to 19,724.19.In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.7% to close at 2,667.75 while the Shenzhen Composite Index tumbled 7.1% to end at 904.70.
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery declined as much as $1.81 or 2.5%, to $70.93 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks discussed here.
