Several buyout offers failed to boost U.S. stock index futures on Monday morning, as markets tried to start a fifth straight week of gains. The big action was between Southwest Airlines and AirTran; the latter offered the former around $1.4 billion in a merger that would combine two low-cost airlines. Global consumer products giant Unilever agreed to buy hair-care products manufacturer Alberto-Culver for $3.7 billion.
Dow Jones Industrial Average index futures lost 4 points to 10,780, while S&P 500 index futures slipped seven-tenths of a point to 1,142.3 at 9:32 a.m. EST.
Nasdaq 100 index futures dropped 1.75 points to 2,016.5.
There wasn't much action globally, either – FTSE 100 index futures were unchanged at 5,576.5, while Germany's DAX index futures were up 8.5 points to 6,310.
China and Brazil stood out from a relatively flat field – in Hong Kong, Hang Seng index futures rose 149 points to 22,360, while Brazilian Bovespa futures gained 102 points to 68,818.
"After a strong Friday and a strong September, a follow-through would be nice, but I don't know that we're going to get a big boost on the coattails of what we've already seen," James Dunigan, the chief investment officer at PNC Wealth Management, told Bloomberg News.
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