By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pulled back Monday,
as investors return from a long holiday weekend with major
benchmarks sitting at record highs, and before the second-quarter
earnings season gets rolling this week.
Futures for the S&P 500 (SPU4) lost 3 points to 1,975, while
those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 18 points to
16,958. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 (NDU4) fell 6 points to
3,910.50.
Investors will be able to ease into Monday's session without
confronting major economic data or assessing speeches from Federal
Reserve members. The market did see fireworks Thursday after the
June U.S. jobs report outstripped expectations, spurring the Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJI) to close above the 17,000 level for
the first time, and the S&P 500 index (SPX) to set a new
closing high just north of 1,985.44.
The new earnings season will get underway Tuesday with results
from Alcoa Inc. (AA) , with another highlight coming with Wells
Fargo & Co. (WFC) on Friday. Earnings for the S&P 500 are
expected to rise by 4.9% for the quarter, according to FactSet, and
with stock prices extending their reach to new highs, investors are
likely to be less forgiving if companies miss analyst expectations.
Analysts have reduced their earnings estimates by the lowest amount
since the second quarter of 2011, said John Butters, senior
earnings analyst at FactSet.
On Monday, stocks that may see action include Lorillard Inc.
(LO) and Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) , following a CNBC report
that the tobacco companies may merge as early as end of this
month.
Meanwhile, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) said Monday it's
buying food-ingredients provider Wild Flavors GmbH in a deal valued
at more than $3.1 billion.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) shares may be active following a
Wall Street Journal report that advisers working for founder Dennis
"Chip" Wilson contacted private-equity firms about taking the
apparel company private.
Also, Chinese officials on Friday reportedly cleared the
proposed buyout of IBM Corp.'s (IBM) low-end server business by
Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGY). The proposed $2.3 billion deal will
still need approval from the U.S.
Shares of GoPro Inc. (GPRO) may be volatile Monday as options on
shares of the video-camera maker kick off trading.
In the commodities market, crude for August delivery (CLQ4) fell
24 cents to $103.81 a barrel, and gold futures(GCQ4) fell more than
$5 to $1,315 an ounce.
Asian stocks closed mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Average
down 0.4%, and European stocks fell after industrial production
data from Germany prompted growth concerns for the country as well
as the euro-zone region.
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