LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: Futures soft, deals drive early action

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BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES SOFT, DEALS DRIVE EARLY ACTION

European futures pointed to a soft start on Tuesday after the French PM was ousted by a confidence vote, though moves were contained as the outcome was largely expected and investors stayed cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data this week.

Contracts on the EuroSTOXX 50 benchmark, where France has the largest weighting, dipped 0.3%, while FTSE futures eased 0.1%. Nasdaq futures edged higher, following a record close on Monday on optimism the Fed will start cutting rates from next week, as the labour market shows signs of cooling.

Later in the day, attention will turn to the U.S. Labor Department, which is set to release a preliminary revision to employment figures for the 12 months through March - data that could help shape views on the strength of the job market.

Corporate news was dominated by dealmaking activity.

Novartis NOVN.S agreed to buy biopharmaceutical company Tourmaline Bio TRML.O for $1.4 billion on a fully diluted basis, while Anglo American AAL.L agreed to a merger with Canada's Teck Resources TECKb.TO.

Meanwhile in Italy, Monte dei Paschi di Siena BPMPS.MI secured 62% of bid target Mediobanca MDBI.MI. The offer will run for a further week from September 16, giving MPS a chance to get closer to the two-thirds majority targeted.

(Danilo Masoni)

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