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Empresas y finanzas

Stock index futures fall; eyes on Alcoa


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.52 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.44 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.35 percent at 4:05 a.m. EST.

    * European stocks were down 0.7 percent in morning trade, led lower by retreating banking shares, hurt by nagging concerns over the euro zone debt crisis.

    * Pressure is growing on Portugal from Germany, France and other euro zone countries to seek financial help from the EU and IMF to stop the bloc's debt crisis from spreading, a senior euro zone source said on Sunday.

    * U.S. Chemicals firm DuPont said on Sunday it will buy Danish food ingredients and enzymes firm Danisco for $5.8 billion, boosting its position in the fast-growing food sector.

    * French drugmaker Sanofi Aventis SA said on Sunday it was in discussions with U.S. bid target Genzyme Corp over ways to value a key Genzyme drug, in a sign the two sides are moving closer to a deal.

    * British medical equipment firm Smith & Nephew rejected a 7 billion-pounds ($10.9 billion) takeover approach from U.S. rival Johnson & Johnson late last year, Sky News said, without citing sources.

    * U.S. software firm iGate , backed by private equity firm Apax Partners, has agreed to buy a majority stake in India's Patni Computer for $862 million, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, marking one of the largest deals in India's technology sector.

    * Duke Energy Corp is near $13 billion-plus deal to buy Progress Energy Inc , a move that would create the largest U.S. power company, sources familiar with the matter said.

    * A group of private equity firms including Apollo Global Management is interested in a buyout of food and beverage company Sara Lee Corp , and has made an approach to the company, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

    * Oil surged almost $2 on Monday to within 2 cents of $90 a barrel after a leak shut an Alaskan pipeline that carries 12 percent of U.S. crude output.

    * China's global trade surplus narrowed in 2010 for the second straight year, giving Beijing grounds to rebuff U.S. pressure for faster currency appreciation ahead of a visit to Washington next week by President Hu Jintao.

    * Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

    * U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a court ruling in a key foreclosures case prompted investors to pull out of bank stocks, adding to weakness after a lackluster jobs report, but despite the day's losses, the S&P 500 and Dow recorded their sixth straight week of advances.

    * the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 22.55 points, or 0.19 percent, to 11,674.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 2.35 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,271.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 6.72 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,703.17.

    (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)