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US STOCKS-Futures point to lower open on oil, recovery jitters

Mon Jul 6, 2009 7:15am EDT

Stocks

   

* Oil prices slide below $64 a barrel

* Worries over strength of economic recovery weigh

* Futures down: S&P 9.70 pts, Dow 87 pts, Nasdaq 12 pts

* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]

NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday with a slide in oil prices set to weigh on energy shares and as investors remained anxious about the potential strength of the economic recovery.

* Oil sank to a five-week low below $64 a barrel, as investors remained cautious over the prospects of a speedy global economic turnaround in the wake of last week's grim U.S. jobs data. Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) were down 1.4 percent at $67.50 in premarket trade.

* Although the weaker oil prices bode well for recession-weary consumers, strong commodity prices have been viewed as a signal the global economy is stabilizing.

* Last week's much weaker-than-expected jobs data also weighed heavily on the market as investors questioned what the economic recovery will look like. Market-watchers were also looking ahead to the start of earnings season, which kicks off with Alcoa (AA.N) this week.

* On the data front, investors will get a look at the services sector as the Institute for Supply Management releases its June non-manufacturing index, at 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).

* S&P 500 futures SPc1 fell 9.70 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 DJc1 slid 87 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures lost 12 points.

* A U.S. judge on Sunday approved General Motors Corp's GMGMQ.PK bankruptcy sale in a move that will allow the company's most profitable assets to exit bankruptcy protection under government ownership.

* U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday, driving the S&P 500 down to its third-straight weekly loss, as a slide in June non-farm payrolls revived caution about economic recovery prospects. U.S. markets were closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)



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