US STOCKS-Futures lower as Portugal concerns offset M&A

                                

                                
 * Portugal pressured to seek financial help
                                
 * Duke Energy to buy Progress Energy for $13.7 billion
                                
 * Alcoa to report quarterly results after market close
                                
 * Futures off; Dow 35 pts, S&P 6.7 pts, Nasdaq 8.25 pts
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
                                
 (Updates prices, adds quote)
                                
 By Ryan Vlastelica
                                
 NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell
on Monday as renewed concerns about the euro zone sovereign
debt crisis worried investors and overshadowed a number of
large acquisitions.
                                
 Pressure grew on Portugal to seek financial help from the
European Union and International Monetary Fund, a senior euro
zone source said on Sunday, though the European Commission on
Monday denied that discussions were underway on an EU/IMF
bailout. For details, see [ID:nLDE7080FG] and [ID:nBRU011239]
                                
 Duke Energy Corp <DUK.N> agreed to buy Progress Energy Inc
<PGN.N> for $13.7 billion in stock, and DuPont <DD.N> plans to
buy Danisco <DCO.CO>, a Danish food ingredient firm, for $5.8
billion. [ID:nSGE70909G] and [ID:nN09219516]
                                
 Shares of Progress rose 1 percent to $45.15 in premarket
trading while Duke edged 0.5 percent lower to $17.70. DuPont, a
Dow component, closed at $49.76.
                                
 "We probably won't get clarity on what's going to happen in
Portugal for a while," said Robert Pavlik, chief market
strategist at the New York-based Banyan Partners LLC, who said
that the uncertainty over Europe was causing traders "to look
past these acquisition deals."
                                
 A group of private equity firms, including Apollo Global
Management [APOLO.UL], is interested in buying Sara Lee Corp
<SLE.N> and has approached the company, a source said. Sara Lee
closed Friday at $17.43. [ID:nN09218422]
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 6.7 points and were below fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> slid 35
points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> lost 8.25 points.
                                
 Alcoa Inc <AA.N> is scheduled to report its quarterly
results after the market closes, unofficially launching the
fourth-quarter earnings season. The stock, a Dow component,
edged 0.8 percent higher to $16.55 in premarket trading.
                                
 "Alcoa results won't suggest what we could see out of
financial or tech companies, but as the first big boy to
report, it sets the tone and the feeling," Pavlik said.
                                
 JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> and Intel Corp <INTC.O>, both
Dow components, will report results later in the week.
                                
 February crude futures rose more than 1 percent to $89.01
per barrel after the Trans Alaska Pipeline was shut because of
a leak, sparking concerns about how U.S. supply could be
impacted. [ID:nN09216312]
                                
 U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a court ruling in a key
foreclosures case prompted investors to pull out of bank
stocks, adding to weakness after a lackluster jobs report.
Despite the day's losses, the S&P 500 and Dow recorded a sixth
straight week of advances.
                                
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)