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Futures down after Asian data points to slowing growth

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures slipped on Monday, putting the S&P on pace for its third consecutive decline, after economic data in Asia pointed to a slowing of global economic growth.

Japan's core machinery orders fell at a record pace of 14.8 percent in May, far worse than the 3.3 percent forecast, while inflation in China eased to a 29-month low of 2.2 percent in June.

The data comes on the heels of Friday's disappointing U.S. jobs report which showed non-farm payrolls grew by only 80,000 in June.

Adding to pressure, Spanish bond yields rose past the 7 percent level viewed as unsustainable ahead of a meeting by euro zone finance ministers later in the day.

Alcoa Inc will kick off earnings season after the closing bell with the aluminum giant expected to post a 5-cent per share profit for the second quarter. Investors will closely monitor corporate earnings for signs the euro zone debt crisis has damaged profits.

"With Europe's ability to shift sentiment with a headline, investors have been short-sighted and quick to lose confidence," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York.

"The current three key drivers are the euro debt situation, economic numbers and now we enter earnings season which brings a new dimension to consider."

S&P 500 futures fell 5.2 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 47 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 4.5 points.

Celgene Corp is one of two companies discussing whether to bid for Human Genome Sciences Inc , which seeks an alternative to a hostile offer by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc , a source familiar with the situation said.

Amerigroup Corp jumped 39.7 percent to $89.85 in premarket trade after the company agreed to be acquired by rival WellPoint Inc for about $4.46 billon.

European equities were lower for a fourth straight session as the global economic data hit miners and a top German retailer offered fresh proof of the euro zone crisis impact on corporates ahead of the earnings season. <.EU>

Asian shares slid after U.S. jobs data and cooling inflation in China exacerbated worries about flagging global economic growth, with investors not particularly hopeful that a European meeting later in the day would bring further progress for the region's banks.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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