* Bin Laden death seen reducing geopolitical risks
* Crude oil falls, dollar ticks higher
* Teva to buy Cephalon, Community Health raises Tenet bid
* Indexes up: Dow 70 pts, S&P 7.2 pts, Nasdaq 11.5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see STXNEWS/US
(Adds analyst comment, M&A activity)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
advanced on Monday following confirmation that Al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden was killed by a U.S.-led operation in
Pakistan.
The dollar edged higher while U.S. crude oil dropped 1.5
percent, reflecting a perception that geopolitical risks would
ease after the death of the mastermind behind the Sept. 11,
2001 attacks on the United States. Brent crude was down 1.6
percent. For details, see [] and []
Tensions in the Middle East and North Africa have served as
market headwinds in recent months as unrest in oil-producing
countries sparked concerns about the risk to supplies and the
global economy.
"This is a great story for freedom lovers, but it will only
impact the economy insofar as it brings the price of oil down,"
said Christian Wagner, chief executive officer at Longview
Capital Management in Wilmington, Delaware. "Energy stocks
could experience some pressure today, albeit on the back of
some record earnings."
Wagner saw the lift as temporary, saying new geopolitical
tensions could arise as factions take advantage of the new
power vacuum in the terrorist network.
"If earnings continue to do well then I wouldn't go so far
as to say that we'll see a pullback in the coming days. But
there will be increased concerns about the region contributing
to market movement," he said.
The report on bin Laden came after the Dow and Nasdaq
recorded their best month since December in April. Major U.S.
indexes also hit new yearly highs last week on the back of
strong corporate results.
Earnings season continued, with Humana Inc <HUM.N>
reporting a rise in first-quarter profit and sales, while
conglomerate Loews Corp's <L.N> earnings missed expectations.
[] and []
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 7.2 points and were above 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 <DJc1> added 70
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> put on 11.5 points.
In deal news, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd
<TEVA.TA><TEVA.O> plans to buy Cephalon Inc <CEPH.O> for $6.8
billion, while Community Health Systems Inc <CYH.N> raised its
bid for Tenet Healthcare Corp <THC.N> by $1.75 per share to
$7.25. [] and []
U.S.-listed shares of Teva rose 4 percent to $47.50 in
premarket trading, while Cephalon gained 5.9 percent to $81.60.
Tenet fell 4 percent to $6.65 before the bell.
Economic indicators on tap for Monday included March
construction spending data and the Institute for Supply
Management's April manufacturing report, which is seen dropping
to 59.9 from 61.2 a month earlier. Both datapoints are due at
10:00 a.m. EST []
Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc
<BRKa.N> still believes his reputation is intact despite a
former top lieutenant buying shares in Lubrizol Corp <LZ.N>
before pitching a takeover of the chemicals company.
Speaking at Berkshire's annual meeting, Buffett remained
bullish on the American economy and said it was not a credit
risk. []
In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <>
edged higher, though volume was expected to be thin as
Britain's markets were closed for a holiday. Japan's Nikkei
stock average ended above the closely watched 10,000 mark for
the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on
optimism over U.S. gains following the death of bin Laden.
On Friday, U.S. stocks rose on strength from Caterpillar
Inc <CAT.N> and other industrials, though weakness in Microsoft
Corp <MSFT.O> limited the Nasdaq's rise.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
