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Futures flat ahead of Fed
minutes; M&A eyed
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[April 08, 2015]
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index
futures were little changed on Wednesday, with traders eyeing a $70
billion mega-deal in the energy space and ahead of minutes from the most
recent meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee.
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 * Royal Dutch Shell said it would buy rival BG Group for $70
billion, closing the gap on market leader U.S. Exxon Mobil
U.S.-traded Shell shares fell 1.2 percent in the premarket after the
announcement of the first major oil industry merger in more than a
decade.
* Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's March policy
meeting, in which the Fed downgraded its economic growth and
inflation projections while leaving the door open to kick-start its
tightening path, are expected at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Traders will
search for clues on the central bank's next move.
* Private equity firms Blackstone Group and Corsair Capital are in
talks to acquire a major stake in First Eagle Investment Management,
valuing the company at around $4 billion, including debt.
* Lions Gate shares fell 3.7 percent after the company announced a
secondary offering of about 10 million shares by funds affiliated
with MHR fund management, its largest shareholder.
* As the reporting season starts to gain momentum, first-quarter S&P
500 earnings are projected to show a decline of 2.8 percent from a
year earlier, which would be the worst results since the third
quarter of 2009.
Futures snapshot at 7:29 a.m. EDT (1129 GMT):
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* S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.5 points, or 0.07 percent, with 91,871
contracts changing hands.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3 points, or 0.07 percent, in volume of
14,119 contracts.
* Dow e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.06 percent, with 17,646
contracts changing hands.
(Aditional reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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