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U.S. stocks set to open lower ahead of data; Brazil ADRs slump

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Reuters NEW YORK
Last Updated : Oct 27 2014 | 6:55 PM IST

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Monday, weighed by energy shares, after the S&P 500 closed its best week in nearly two years and ahead of data on U.S. services sector growth and home sales.

Brent crude oil fell below $85 a barrel and U.S. crude dipped below $80 after Goldman Sachs slashed its price forecasts, citing abundant supply and lackluster demand. An energy sector exchange-traded fund fell about 1 percent in trading before the bell.

Shares of Brazilian companies traded in the United States tumbled after incumbent Dilma Rousseff won reelection in a runoff vote, defeating centrist and market favorite Aecio Neves by a slim margin. Petrobras ADRs slumped 15.6 percent in premarket trading and Vale lost 5.5 percent. Itau Unibanco and Banco Bradesco fell about 7 percent each.

"Futures are moving with oil prices which also traded lower," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

He said crude futures extended declines in part due to technical factors.

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S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 11 points and fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract, indicated a lower open. Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures fell 75 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures lost 14 points.

Earnings continued to trickle in, with Merck reporting lower than expected third quarter revenue though it beat earnings forecasts thanks to cost cuts. Its shares were little changed in early trading.

German business sentiment fell in October for a sixth straight month to its lowest level in almost two years, adding to recent concerns the largest European economy may continue to struggle to grow.

Markit's initial gauge of the U.S. services sector in October is due at 9:45 a.m. EDT (1345 GMT) and will be followed 15 minutes later by a reading on pending home sales for September.

Micron shares rose 3.5 percent premarket after it announced a $1 billion stock buyback authorization.

Sarepta Therapeutics shares fell 38 percent in premarket trading after it said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requested additional data regarding a marketing application for its experimental muscle disorder drug.

The S&P 500 closed its best week since January 2013 on Friday, boosted by earnings from Microsoft and Procter & Gamble and as concerns eased over the spread of Ebola in the United States.

A 5-year-old boy who arrived in the United States on Saturday from Guinea is being observed in isolation at Bellevue Hospital in New York City for possible Ebola symptoms, according to media reports on Monday.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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First Published: Oct 27 2014 | 6:48 PM IST

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