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Bolsa, mercados y cotizaciones

Stock futures signal profit taking after rally


    (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 1.1 percent, Dow Jones futures down 1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.5 percent, as investors were poised to book recent hefty gains.

    European shares were down in early trade on Monday, as banks such as HSBC , Santander and Commerzbank surrendered a small portion of their recent sharp rally.

    Banking stocks were also down in Asia. China Construction Bank Corp <0939.HK> shares dropped 7 percent in late trade, hit by renewed expectations that Bank of America would unload its stake in the Chinese lender, which is worth more than $8 billion.

    On the macro side, a Chinese top central banker said the government's stimulus has worked better than expected and crude imports data showed a spike in demand. "China's economy is expected to sustain rapid growth for some period in the future," Deputy Central Bank Governor Su Ning told a financial conference.

    American International Group Inc (AIG) and the U.S. government expect a multi-year restructuring of the insurer, the Wall Street Journal said, citing an internal AIG memo. The April 23 memo described an initiative code-named "Project Destiny", which involved a 45-day review of AIG's businesses that is supposed to lead to the multi-year restructuring plan, the paper said.

    In the pharma sector, AstraZeneca Plc rose 5 percent in London after results showed the company's experimental heart drug Brilinta has proved superior to Sanofi-Aventis SA and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's blockbuster Plavix in a pivotal clinical trial.

    Among companies due to report on Monday are Ambac Financial Group , EchoStar Comm Corp , Fluor Corp , King Pharmaceuticals Inc , Playboy Enterprises Inc and Priceline.Com .

    U.S. stocks surged on Friday, lifted by reassuring jobs data and banks' stress test results.

    The Dow Jones industrial average gained 164.80 points, or 1.96 percent, to 8,574.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 21.84 points, or 2.41 percent, to 929.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 22.76 points, or 1.33 percent, to 1,739.00.

    Since reaching a floor in early March, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 32.5 percent and the S&P 500 is up 39.4 percent.

    (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)