MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Off Modestly; GE In Focus

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures drifted lower on Monday on the heels of the fifth straight week of gains for major indexes, as investors faced a dearth of home-grown economic data and weak trade statistics out of China.

Some deal news came from General Electric Co., which announced a $3.3 billion sale of its appliances unit to Sweden's Electrolux AB.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 27 points to 17,090, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) lost 3.4 points to 2,002.60. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4) fell 5.5 points to 4,081.

Consumer credit data for July is due at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, but otherwise, the data calendar remains largely quiet until retail sales data is released on Friday.

China, meanwhile, reported a surprise fall in imports and a widening trade deficit.

"U.S. indexes have seen rises over the past 5 weeks -- now having digested news that recent China trade data is weak, and that Japanese GDP (gross domestic product) has shrunk at its fastest pace in over 5 years -- the reality is that global economies aren't where they should be," said Brenda Kelly, chief strategist at IG, in emailed comments.

Investors shrugged off a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report out Friday, and the S&P 500 index (SPX) and Dow industrials (DJU4) logged fifth-straight weekly gains.

Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades, said in a note that markets are hanging onto hopes for a spike in mergers and acquisitions. That could provide some steam for the S&P 500, which continues to march higher into uncharted territory. Also read: Stock-picking gains traction as volatility looms

Stocks to watch: GE (GE) announced Monday that Sweden's Electrolux will buy its appliances unit for $3.3 billion. GE has been trying to exit its century-old appliance business for several years. GE shares weren't showing any action so far in the premarket, while Electrolux shares jumped 6%, making it the biggest mover for the Stoxx Europe 600 .

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) is expected to report a profit of 49 cents per share on revenue of $1.87 billion ahead of the opening bell, according to the FactSet consensus.

Pound, oil on the wane: The London FTSE 100 index largely led Europe stocks lower after a weekend poll showed pro-Scottish independence voters in the lead ahead of a referendum Sept. 18. The pound(GBPUSD) also fell sharply, trading around nine-month lows against the dollar.

Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.9% to $99.94 a barrel, the first time an active contract has traded below that level since June 2013, according to FactSet.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires