A flurry of deal making boosted Wall Street stock futures pointed Monday after the previous week’s dismal performance.

The S&P 500 fell 2.2% on the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 2%.

In today’s M&A news, Xerox agreed to pay $US6.4 billion of cash and stock for outsourcing and information-services company Affiliated Computer Services.

Abbott Laboratories it said it will buy the pharmaceutical business of Belgium’s Solvay for as much as US$7 billion in a deal that would expand its presence in emerging markets.

Johnson & Johnson bought 18.1% of Crucell for US$442.7 million and will pay development milestones and royalty payments if flu vaccines the two firms will develop make it to the market.

Here at home, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to issue an update on the government’s stimulus measures in a speech scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET in Saint John.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.28 of a cent to US91.32 cents.

In Canadian M&A news, talks have been extended in Swiss drug company Lonza Group’s takeover bid for Toronto-based drugmaker Patheon.

In other market news, Celestica Inc. will spend more than US$346 million from its cash reserves to buy back all of its outstanding notes that mature in 2011, the company said Monday.

In commodities news, front-month crude-oil futures were down 17¢ at $65.85 a barrel, while gold was higher by about US$1 to US$993 an ounce.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.5% as exporters’ shares were hurt by the strengthening of the yen against the U.S. dollar. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 2.1%.

Stocks were higher in Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 was higher by about 0.6% and Germany;s DAX was up about 1.3% after Sunday’s election in which incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition won that country’s national elections.

On Friday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange ended lower, dragged down by a selloff in Research in Motion shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 73.37 points, or 0.65%, at 11,212.39.

For the week, the index lost 2%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index edged up 3.28 points, or 0.26%, to finish at 1,259.64.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell after the release of disappointing reports on U.S. durable goods orders and new home sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 9665.19, down 42.25 points, or 0.4%. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1044.38, down 6.4 points, or 0.61%.

The Nasdaq composite index closed at 2,090.92, down 16.69 points, or 0.79%.

The Dow was down 1.6% for the week while the S&P was down 2.2% and Nasdaq fell 2% for the week.

IE