Russell 2000 to sag
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are just a hair below the flat line and the small-cap index will likely open in negative territory ahead of news on July sales of existing homes.
Shares of Gateway Inc. (NYSE: GTW) have added about 50% in pre-market trading following news that the Irvine, Calif.-based computer maker will be purchased by Taiwan’s Acer Inc. for $710 million, or $1.90 a share. That’s 57% above the closing price of $1.21 on Friday.
The combined company will become the world’s third largest seller of personal computers.
Elsewhere, Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) has agreed to acquire Canada’s Stelco Inc. for $1.04 billion.
Investors will hold their breath for data on existing homes sales for July, which will be released by the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. ET. Economists expect that sales have fallen to an annual pace of 5.7 million from 5.75 million in June.
News that sales of new single-family homes rose a surprising 2.8% in July helped spark a rally on Friday.
