Futures inch higher on M&A, data eyed
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By Kristina CookeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures edged higher on Thursday, boosted by takeover news, but investors were cautious before economic data that could give clues on the outlook for interest rates.Shares of Hilton Hotels Corp. rose 30 percent to $47 before the bell after U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group on Tuesday agreed to buy the company for about $20 billion plus debt.U.S. stock markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday on Wednesday. Stocks rose in a shortened session on Tuesday, also buoyed by takeover news.The market may get direction from a report on the services sector of the economy and weekly jobless claims data."The merger and acquisition activity has not slowed down, and that has really helped to support to market," said Peter Dunay, investment strategist at Leeb Capital Management in New York.S&P 500 futures rose 2.50 points, above 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 rose 7 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 3 points.The Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index will top the U.S. economic agenda at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT).Economists in a Reuters survey forecast the services index dropped to 58 in June from 59.7 in May, signaling a slower pace of growth. The data follows a surprising rise of ISM's June manufacturing index on Monday.U.S. oil rose 59 cents to $72 a barrel. Oil could be a potential "land mine for the market," Dunay said. "Seventy dollars was seen as the higher bound, and that it would bounce back from that level, but it shows no sign of easing."Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. rose 4.8 percent to $218 before the bell after the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Wednesday the Canadian technology company won permission to sell its BlackBerry device in China after eight years of effort.In other deal news, U.S. private equity firm Apollo Management unveiled a $6 billion bid proposal for Huntsman Corp on Wednesday, 8 percent higher than a deal accepted by the U.S. chemical company last week. Shares rose 6.5 percent in Europe.Coca-Cola Co. is evaluating whether to make a bid for Snapple, the iced tea division owned by Cadbury Schweppes Plc , as part of Coke's push into tea-based drinks, Coke Chief Executive E. Neville Isdell told Reuters on Wednesday.General Motors Corp. could be a potential drag. The largest U.S. automaker's shares fell 1.5 percent in Europe in reaction to a steeper-than-expected drop in U.S. sales in June and indications it would have to respond with bigger discounts. On Thursday, Bear Stearns cut its recommendation on General Motors' stock.
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