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Empresas y finanzas

Stock futures signal lower open for equities


    (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 all down 0.3 percent.

    ICSC/Goldman Sachs will release at 1145 GMT chain store sales for the week ended April 30 versus the prior week. In the previous week, sales rose 0.4 percent.

    Dutch-listed property group ProLogis European Properties rejected on Tuesday a takeover offer from U.S. group ProLogis as inadequate, saying it did not represent the firm's full value.

    Redbook releases at 1255 GMT its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for April versus March. In the prior period, sales were up 1.2 percent.

    The companies announcing results on Tuesday include Pfizer , Comcast , Leg Mason , MasterCard , Marathon Oil , Avon and Cephalon .

    At 1400 GMT, the Commerce Department releases March factory orders. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 1.9 percent rise compared with a 0.1 percent drop in February.

    Resource related shares will be in focus, with Brent crude falling below $125 a barrel as the dollar rebounded from a three-year low and traders weighed the impact of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death on the market. Copper prices fell 0.3 percent.

    Shares in Hartford Financial Services Group were up 2.4 percent, while Davita Inc was 5.8 percent higher after the bell on Monday as the companies announced results.

    The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 0.4 percent on weaker mining and auto shares. Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday.

    U.S. stocks slipped on Monday, as an early bounce on Osama bin Laden's death gave way to questions around the longevity of the market's recent rally.

    The Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.18 points, or 0.02 percent, at 12,807.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.39 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,361.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9.46 points, or 0.33 percent, at 2,864.08. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)