Stocks poised for shaky start

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures were mixed Monday, signaling a weak open, as investors digested billion-dollar corporate deals and a move by the Bank of Japan to shore up its economy.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) futures were slightly lower, S&P 500 (SPX) futures were flat and Nasdaq (COMP) futures rose ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks rallied Friday, recovering some ground after being down most of the week, as investors looked past a report that showed economic growth slowed in the second quarter and cautious remarks from the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The economy will continue to be a big driver this week, with reports due on consumer spending, home sales and manufacturing activity. But mostly, investors will be gearing up for Friday's monthly jobs report, due before the opening bell Friday.

"All eyes will be on economic data," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. "The market could continue to rally on better-than-expected news, but if the incoming figures disappoint and increase the fear factor, Bernanke's rally will fade."

Cardillo added that investors' focus on Monday will be on the personal spending figures due before the market opens since consumer spending accounts for 70% of economic activity.

"Any clues that consumers aren't zipping up their wallets is positive for the market," he said.

Economy: Government data on personal income and spending during July come out before the market opens.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect personal income to have risen 0.2% last month after a flat reading in June. Personal spending is expected to have edged up 0.3% in July after a 0.1% rise the month before.

Companies: French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) agreed to buy biotech firm Genzyme (GENZ, Fortune 500) in an $18.5 billion cash deal. Genzyme has reportedly been snubbing Sanofi's advances for the past month, prompting the French firm to send a so-called 'bear hug' letter that is one stop short of a hostile takeover.

Shares of Sanofi were up 0.7% in premarket trading, and Genzyme's stock rallied 3.8%.

Giant chipmaker Intel (INTC, Fortune 500)'s stock rose 0.5% after the company inked a deal to acquire the wireless unit of German chipmaker Infineon Technoloiges in an all-cash deal valued at $1.4 billion. Intel recently purchased security technology firm McAfee Inc. (MFE) for $7.7 billion in cash on Aug. 19. On Friday, Intel warned its third-quarter sales would fall short of its previous forecast.

3M (MMM, Fortune 500) said it will acquire biometric security company Cogent Systems (COGT) for $10.50 per share in a deal valued at $943 million. Shares of 3M slipped 0.3% in premarket trading.

The bidding war for 3PAR (PAR) continued over the weekend. HP (HPQ, Fortune 500) has currently topped Dell (DELL, Fortune 500), with their bid of $2 billion, or $30 per share, that was made on Friday.

World markets: European shares were mixed in early trading. The CAC 40 in France fell to 0.7% and the DAX in Germany shed 0.4%. Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.9%.

Asian markets ended higher, following the Bank of Japan's announcement to ease monetary pressure. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index jumped up 1.8%, and the Shanghai Composite rose 1.6%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.7%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, but fell versus the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for October delivery slipped 37 cents to $74.80 a barrel. Gold for December delivery rose 70 cents to $1,238.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.60% from 2.64% late Friday.