Wall Street stock futures declined on Monday despite news of a big M&A deal in the technology sector.

Computer maker Dell has agreed to acquire in formation technology services company Perot Systems for US$30 a share, in a deal the companies valued at US$3.9 billion.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said foreign acquisitions of Canadian securities fell to $351 million in July.

Meanwhile, Canadians sold $526 million of foreign securities as divestment of debt instruments continued and investment in foreign stocks slowed, StatsCan said.

Later this week, investors will watch closely what the the U.S. Federal has to say about the economy when it announces its interest rate decision on Wednesday.

In earnings news, Potash Corp. slashed its earnings forecast late Friday amid stagnant demand.

The company issued revised earnings guidance of $3.25-$3.75 per share for full-year 2009, shifting from a range of $4.00-$5.00 per share provided in July 2009.

In today’s commodities news, crude-oil futures fell US$1.48 to US$70.56 a barrel.

Overseas, most Asia markets were closed for holidays, including Japan. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 150.60 points, or 0.7%, at 21,472.85.

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.4%, Germany’s DAX fell 0.8% and France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.3%

On Friday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange succumbed to a late-day plunge driven by resource stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 82.28 points, or 0.7%, at 11,445.95. But thanks to gains earlier in the week, the benchmark index finished the week up roughly 2%.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index enjoyed a late-day surge to finish at 1,281.80, up 9.06 points, or 0.7%.

Meanwhile, equities in New York advanced on Friday, helping the main U.S. stock market indices finish the week with solid gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended at 9,820.20, up 36.28 points, or 0.4%. The blue-chip benchmark gained 2.2% for the week.

The S&P 500 index climbed 2.81 points, or 0.3%, to 1,068.30, for a weekly advance of 2.5%.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.11 points, or 0.3%, to 2,132.86, a weekly gain of 2.5%.

IE