US STOCKS-Wall St to open lower after run-up; Perot higher

Published 09/21/2009, 09:26 AM
Updated 09/21/2009, 09:33 AM
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* Commodity stocks retreat amid resurgent US dollar

* Dell proposes $3.9 bln takeover of Perot Systems

* Futures off: S&P 500 7.4 pts, Nasdaq 11 pts, Dow 60 pts

(Recast first paragraph, adds byline, fresh quote, updates prices)

By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks headed for a lower open on Monday as a resurgent U.S. dollar took a toll on global commodity prices, with futures suggesting Wall Street would open down nearly 1 percent.

Investors were pausing to gauge if the outlook for corporate profits justified a market run-up to fresh 11-month highs.

Crude oil futures shed 3.6 percent to $69.48 a barrel, while spot gold prices dropped below $1,000 an ounce.

The benchmark S&P 500 is up 58 percent since hitting a 12-year closing low in early March, partly because of strong second-quarter earnings and optimism that an economic recovery is gaining traction.

That optimism is beginning to come under some strain, however, as investors seek more clarity about the 2010 profit outlook and await hints of how strong results will be for the rest of this year.

"I certainly see that we'll consolidate, but I wouldn't say it's the end of the rally just because we are starting to pull back a little bit," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco.

"We've risen to a level that people are little bit more comfortable with. But we've got to wait to see those numbers as earnings don't come out for another three to four weeks."

S&P 500 futures dipped 7.4 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were off 60 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 11 points.

Computer maker Dell Inc announced a $3.9 billion proposed takeover of Perot Systems Corp, a deal likely to underscore investors' hopes that stock valuations remained attractive even after the market's strong run-up from early March.

Dell said it would launch an offer to acquire all of the outstanding Class A common stock of Perot Systems for $30 per share in cash, 67.5 percent above Friday's closing price of $17.91 on the New York Stock Exchange. Perot Systems shares jumped to $29.70 in premarket trade.

The boost from that news, however, was tempered by the rising U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.8 percent.

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