3:25 AM
Stock index futures signal small gains
Addison Ray
PARIS | Mon Nov 29, 2010 5:50am EST
PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.36 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.24 percent at 1020 GMT.
* European stocks rose in morning trade, in a rollercoaster session as a rescue deal for Ireland failed to dissipate worries that the country's debt crisis could spread to other euro zone economies.
* Germany and France declared that Europe had taken decisive action to save the euro by rescuing Ireland and laying the foundations of a permanent debt resolution system, but investors were not convinced.
* Under pressure to arrest the threat to the currency before markets opened and prevent contagion engulfing Portugal and Spain, EU finance ministers endorsed an 85 billion-euro ($115 billion) loan package on Sunday to help Dublin cover bad bank debts and bridge a huge budget deficit.
* The euro hovered near two-month lows against the dollar on Monday as investors looked past the rescue package to debt problems in other peripheral euro zone economies.
* South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed retaliation against any further provocation by the North after it attacked an island last week as anger grew at the government's weak response.
* Geopolitical risks were also fueled by U.S. diplomatic cables released on Sunday in an embarrassing leak that undermines U.S. diplomacy. According to a vast cache of diplomatic cables, Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly urged the United States to attack Iran's nuclear program.
* U.S. oil major ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and its partners have awarded a contract to oil services firm Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N) to drill 10 wells in Iraq's West Qurna Phase One oilfield, industry sources familiar with the matter said.
* Wal-Mart (WMT.N) made a $2.3 billion formal bid for control of Massmart (MSMJ.J), giving the world's largest retailer a substantial presence in South Africa and paving the way for further expansion across the fast-growing continent.
* Commodity related shares led U.S. stocks lower on Friday in a shortened post-holiday session as investors unloaded risky assets on worries that euro-zone debt problems may spread.
* The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 95.28 points, or 0.85 percent, to end at 11,092. The Standard & Poor's 500 .SPX slipped 8.95 points, or 0.75 percent, to 1,189.40. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 8.56 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,534.56.
* For the week, the Dow dropped 1 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.86 percent, but the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.65 percent. U.S. markets were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Louise Heavens)
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