By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures drifted lower on
Monday on the heels of the fifth straight week of gains for major
indexes, as investors faced a dearth of home-grown economic data
and weak trade statistics out of China.
Some deal news came from General Electric Co., which announced a
$3.3 billion sale of its appliances unit to Sweden's Electrolux
AB.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 27
points to 17,090, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) lost
3.4 points to 2,002.60. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4)
fell 5.5 points to 4,081.
Consumer credit data for July is due at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, but
otherwise, the data calendar remains largely quiet until retail
sales data is released on Friday.
China, meanwhile, reported a surprise fall in imports and a
widening trade deficit.
"U.S. indexes have seen rises over the past 5 weeks -- now
having digested news that recent China trade data is weak, and that
Japanese GDP (gross domestic product) has shrunk at its fastest
pace in over 5 years -- the reality is that global economies aren't
where they should be," said Brenda Kelly, chief strategist at IG,
in emailed comments.
Investors shrugged off a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report
out Friday, and the S&P 500 index (SPX) and Dow industrials
(DJU4) logged fifth-straight weekly gains.
Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades, said in a note that
markets are hanging onto hopes for a spike in mergers and
acquisitions. That could provide some steam for the S&P 500,
which continues to march higher into uncharted territory. Also
read: Stock-picking gains traction as volatility looms
Stocks to watch: GE (GE) announced Monday that Sweden's
Electrolux will buy its appliances unit for $3.3 billion. GE has
been trying to exit its century-old appliance business for several
years. GE shares weren't showing any action so far in the
premarket, while Electrolux shares jumped 6%, making it the biggest
mover for the Stoxx Europe 600 .
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) is expected to report a profit of 49
cents per share on revenue of $1.87 billion ahead of the opening
bell, according to the FactSet consensus.
Pound, oil on the wane: The London FTSE 100 index largely led
Europe stocks lower after a weekend poll showed pro-Scottish
independence voters in the lead ahead of a referendum Sept. 18. The
pound(GBPUSD) also fell sharply, trading around nine-month lows
against the dollar.
Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.9% to $99.94 a barrel,
the first time an active contract has traded below that level since
June 2013, according to FactSet.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires