US STOCKS-Futures point to flat open, Yahoo eyed
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday as concerns about the health of the global economy nagged, while technology shares could be in focus with Yahoo Inc expected to reject a takeover bid from Microsoft Corp.
Yahoo (YHOO.O) was set to reject Microsoft's (MSFT.O) unsolicited bid, now worth $42 billion, as too low, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday in the first clear signal that the board might be prepared to negotiate and sell the company. In European trading, shares of Yahoo (YHOO.F) rose 3.2 percent.
Finance leaders from the Group of Seven major economies said at the weekend that the crumbling U.S. housing market had hurt the world economy and that conditions may worsen as debt-laden banks clamp down on credit.
Worries about a deeper-than-expected global economic slowdown battered global equities on Monday, with Asian stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS down 2.6 percent and the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 0.3 percent lower.
"The Group of Seven meeting really didn't help. There is this ongoing concern that we have a significantly slowing global economy," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
"The question is really, how much of this negative news on the economy is already priced into the market."
S&P 500 futures SPc1 fell 1.80 points and were roughly in line with fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.
Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 fell 17 points. Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures rose 1 point.
In merger and acquisition news, Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) and Northwest Airlines Corp NWA.N may reach agreement within weeks after sharing details of their plans with pilot unions, according to a report on Bloomberg.com, citing people familiar with the talks.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrials ended its worst week in nearly five years as investors unloaded shares of financials, home builders and other sectors at the center of the credit market crisis.
Last week, the Dow lost 4.4 percent while the S&P fell 4.6 percent and the Nasdaq ended 4.5 percent lower. (Editing by Kenneth Barry)
