U. S. stock futures signal losses; Alcoa…

* U.S. accumulate index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street in c~tinuance Monday, as investors take a breather after the market posted its most good weekly gains in a year and ahead of the start of the proceeds season, to be kicked off by Alcoa after U.S. closing bell today.

* At 0840 GMT, futures conducive to the S&P 500 were down 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures below the horizon 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.6 percent.

* Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum agriculturist, is expected to turn a second-quarter profit after a year-~ne loss, but analysts have recently been cutting their forecasts as the visitor faces a sharp drop in aluminum prices.

* Overall, analysts expect 27 percent putting out in earnings on the S&P 500 for the stand by quarter according to Thomson Reuters data, up from previous readings in the accomplished three quarters, which hovered around 22 percent.

* China’s exports rose 43.9 percent in June from a year earlier and imports were up 34.1 percent, the General Administration of Customs related on Saturday.

* BP Plc is in talks with U.S. oil and elastic fluid company Apache Corp and other companies over potential asset sales, a rise familiar with the situation said on Sunday, as it weighs for what reason to pay costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil shed.

* BP, which is making progress with a new containment system in the place of its ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, said on Monday the require to be paid of the spill had risen to about $3.5 billion.

* U.S. business products retailer Staples Inc will complete a proposed deal to bribe Corporate Express Australia , the company said on Sunday without disclosing the conditions of the deal.

* U.S. crude oil futures fell below $76 a barrel adhering Monday, after gaining more than 5 percent last week, as traders locked in profits in advance of earnings season and fresh U.S. economic data.

* Japan’s Nikkei avearge inched degrade on Monday while European stocks dipped in morning trade following star-spangled gains last week ahead of the start of the earnings acclimatize.

* Wall Street closed out its best week in a year ~ward Friday, snapping back from a long stretch of selling, as investors looked in advance to what many expect will be a solid earnings season.

* The Dow Jones pertaining average was up 59.04 points, or 0.58 percent, at 10,198.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 7.70 points, or 0.72 percent, at 1,077.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 21.05 points, or 0.97 percent, at 2,196.45.

(Reporting through Blaise Robinson; Editing by Mike Nesbit) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS US EUROPE

(blaise.robinson@reuters.com ; +33 1 4949 5269, Reuters Messaging: blaise.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.gin)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or homogeneous means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.