Futures Slip as Traders Gear Up for Busy Week

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U.S. stock-index futures dipped on Monday as traders eyed a round of corporate deal making and prepared for a busy week on Wall Street.

Today's Markets

As of 8:05 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 24 points to 15474, S&P 500 futures dipped 3.3 points to 1683 and Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 5.3 points to 3065.

It's merger Monday.

Hudson's Bay said it will buy Saks (NYSE:SKS) for $16 a share in a deal valued at $2.9 billion, including debt. The move will bring iconic brands like Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and The Bay under one corporate roof. Generic drugmaker Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) revealed plans to buy Ireland's Elan (NYSE:ELN) for $8.6 billion. Meanwhile, Omnicom (NYSE:OMC) and Publicis said they would merge, creating a titan in the advertising industry.

It's set to be a busy week. The first reading of U.S. gross domestic product is due out on Wednesday, then the all-important monthly jobs report is due out on Friday. Both pieces of data provide information on how the world's biggest economy is faring. There is also a two-day Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting on tap.

Traders will get a look at pending home sales at 10:00 a.m. ET. Signed contracts to buy previously-owned homes are forecast to have fallen 1% on a month-to-month basis in June.

Commodity markets were mildly higher. The benchmark U.S. crude oil contract rose 16 cents, or 0.15%, to $104.86 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline gained 0.38% to $3.056 a gallon. In metals, gold jumped $14.50, or 1.1%, to $1,336 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.24% to 2748, the English FTSE 100 dipped 0.5% to 6555 and the German DAX slumped 0.65% to 8245.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 plummeted 2.3% to 13810 and the Chinese Hang Seng fell 0.58% to 21841.