Wall St set for higher open on M

NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) US stock index futures pointed to a higher market opening on Monday on another round of proposed takeovers and China's plans to add steam to the private equity boom.

Mobile phone company Alltel Corp. agreed to be bought by TPG Capital and the buyout arm of Goldman Sachs. For details, see ID:nN20277845. In addition, diagnostics firm Hologic Inc.'s said it planned to buy Cytyc Corp., another women's health company.

China's state investment agency said it plans to take a $3 billion, or 10 percent, stake in the Blackstone Group of the United States. Blackstone is set to make an initial public offering, with plans to raise as much as $7.75 billion from selling shares.

''One thing we saw in first-quarter earnings was the impact global growth is having on U.S. earnings, so anything that supports ongoing global growth -- and China's a key consideration in that regard -- I think that benefits U.S.

equities,'' said Michael Malone, trading analyst at Cowen & Co.

in New York.

Alltel stock advanced 6 percent to $69.10 before the opening bell.

Shares of Cytyc surged 31.5 percent to $46.10 and Hologic stock was up 1.4 percent to $58.40 in electronic composite trading.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.3 point but still above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures down 9 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 2 points.

Stock futures dipped as the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said its gauge of the national economy was little changed in April as losses in payroll employment continued to point to below-trend growth.

An executive shake-up could move shares of Dow component Pfizer Inc. The drug maker said on Sunday its chief financial officer resigned and its global president of research would retire. ID:nN20267671.

Shares of retailers may feel a pinch after a national survey showed on Sunday gasoline prices hit a record high of $3.18 a gallon on May 18. ID:nN06121781 Lowe's Cos. Inc., the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, fell after it posted first-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates by a penny and lowered its profit outlook for the year. Lowe's fell 1.4 percent to $32.20 in electronic trading.

Other S&P 500 components scheduled to report earnings on Monday were for-profit education provider Apollo Group Inc. and Campbell Soup Co.

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