LDN - Business

Futures flat after Macron wins French election

[May 08, 2017] By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday as investors looked for new catalysts following centrist Emmanuel Macron's widely expected victory in the French presidential election.

* Currency markets were in sharp focus, with the euro hitting a six-month high against the dollar after Macron comfortably defeated far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen who had threatened to take France out of the European Union.

* Oil prices hovered near six-month lows as talks to extend a supply cut deal did little to soothe concerns about a glut amid a boom in U.S. drilling.

* Tyson Foods, Hertz Global and Marriott International are scheduled to report quarterly results on Monday. Big retailers such as Macy's and Nordstrom will report later this week.

* The S&P 500 closed at a record level on Friday, encouraged by a sharp rebound in U.S. jobs growth and as investors bought beaten-down energy shares.

* St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard and his Cleveland counterpart, Loretta Mester, are scheduled to speak at separate events and could shed some light on the Fed's plans.
* Shares of Kate Spade rose 8.7 percent to $18.42 in light premarket trading after bigger rival Coach Inc said it would buy the company for $2.4 billion.

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Straight Path surged more than 16 percent to $187.51 after an unnamed telecommunications company raised its offer to buy the wireless spectrum holder for about $3.1 billion.

Futures snapshot at 7:00 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were down 21 points, or 0.1 percent, with 21,931 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.25 points, or 0.05 percent, with 159,282 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 2.25 points, or 0.04 percent, on volume of 23,848 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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