Wall Street stock futures fell Monday as the outbreak of swine flu unsettled investors.

Swine flu has killed more than 100 people in Mexico and officials world-wide are taking measures to counteract the spread of the strain.

The potential pandemic stoked fears a global economic recovery could be derailed if the strain spreads more widely.

Stock indexes around the globe declined with travel stocks, including airline and cruise-ship operators, sliding. Meanwhile, shares of drug makers climbed.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average managed a gain of 18.35, or 0.2%, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 418.43 points, or 2.7%.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6% in midday trading while Germany’s DAX index fell 1.1% and France’s CAC-40 fell 1.1%.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar opened at US82.15¢, down 0.52 of a cent from Friday’s close.

The threat of a flu pandemic rattled commodities traders as light sweet crude for June delivery fell US$2.78 to US$48.77. The contract jumped US$1.93 to settle at US$51.55 last week.

The worries followed a weekend G-7 meeting in which global financial leaders provided a sanguine outlook.

In corporate news, General Motors said Monday it will cut another 21,000 hourly jobs and eliminate its Pontiac brand by the end of next year as part of a stepped-up restructuring plan. The company also unveiled the terms of a debt-for-equity exchange. General Motors is commencing public exchange offers for US$27 billion of its unsecured public notes.

In today’s earnings news, drug-store chain Jean Coutu Group reported a wider quarterly loss on as it absorbed losses from its stake in U.S. pharmacy Rite Aid Corp .

The company, which boosted its quarterly dividend 12.5%, said it lost $733.6 million, or $3.11 a share, for the quarter that ended February 28, compared with a loss of $269.2 million, or $1.08 a share, for the comparable quarter last year.

On Friday, a surge in materials stocks sent the Toronto Stock Exchange higher, helping the benchmark index incur another consecutive week of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index surged 139.98 points, or 1.5%, to close 9,549.48. The benchmark index gained 1% for the week.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 18.87 points, or 1.9%, to close at 1,006.81.


In New York, U.S. stocks also enjoyed gains on Friday even after the Federal Reserve released a report unveiling a more pessimistic outlook for the U.S. economy next year.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 119.23 points, or 1.5%, to 8,076.29. For the week, the blue-chip index dipped 0.7%.

The S&P 500 index rose 14.29 points, or 1.7%, to 866.22, a weekly slip of 0.4%.

The Nasdaq composite index added 42.08 points, or 2.6%, to end at 1,694.29, up 1.3% for the week.

IE