Stock index futures signal mixed open

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.15 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.03 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1 percent at 3.37 a.m. EDT.

* World equities fell on Monday as concerns about the fiscal crisis in the United States and progress on a bailout plan for Greece dented optimism over global growth prospects.

* Data showed over the weekend that China's export growth climbed to a five-month high above 11 percent, beating expectations and adding to recent data suggesting the country's seven straight quarters of slowing economic growth have ended.

* China's reassuring data, however, was offset by figures showing Japan's economy shrinking 0.9 percent in the third quarter. Though this was in line with expectations, the decline in capital expenditure was much steeper than forecast.

* On Sunday, the Greek parliament approved an austerity budget for next year, a necessary step to unblock a new tranche of credit from the European Union and International Monetary Fund before the government runs out of cash, although investors remain concerned about whether the EU and IMF will agree to send the next tranche.

* A senior Republican senator voiced confidence on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers would forge a deal on the year-end "fiscal cliff," while a top aide to President Barack Obama signaled a willingness to compromise over raising tax rates on the rich.

* Apple Inc (>> Apple Inc.) and HTC Corp (>> HTC Corp) announced on Saturday a global patent settlement and 10-year licensing agreement that ends one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars. Shares of HTC jumped by their permitted daily limit on Monday.

* China's Alibaba Group <ALIAB.UL> more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71 percent for the period, proving the country's largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector. Yahoo Inc (>> Yahoo! Inc.) holds 24 percent of Alibaba.

* Exxon Mobil (>> Exxon Mobil Corporation) said it faces a $3.3 billion spike in costs at its LNG project in Papua New Guinea, the latest Asia-Pacific project to be hit by cost overruns as competition is set to grow from new gas supplies coming on tap in North America and Africa.

* The bullish money held by hedge funds and other big speculators in U.S. commodities has sunk to a four-month low as they unwound from gold and a broad number of markets after Superstorm Sandy's feared hit on the U.S. economy, trade data showed on Friday.

* Sharon McCollam, the former chief financial officer of Williams-Sonoma Inc (>> Williams-Sonoma, Inc.), will come out of retirement to take over as finance chief at Best Buy Co Inc (>> Best Buy Co., Inc.) at the end of the year, a source familiar with the matter said.

* UK lawmakers will quiz executives of Starbucks (>> Starbucks Corporation), Google (>> Google Inc) and Amazon (>> Amazon.com, Inc.) on Monday about how they have managed to pay only small amounts of tax in Britain while racking up billions of dollars worth of sales here.

* U.S. stocks advanced on Friday but failed to make up for what turned out to be the worst week for markets since June, as investors turned their attention from the presidential election to the coming negotiations over the "fiscal cliff."

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> edged up 4.07 points, or 0.03 percent, to 12,815.39 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 2.34 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,379.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 9.29 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,904.87.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson/editing by Chris Pizzey, London MPG Desk, +44 (0)207 542-4441)

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