U.S. Futures Flat Amid Global Growth Concerns; Hot Stocks: CRM, CHK, SDRL, GRPN, VNR

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on the Wall Street as a weak Chinese data intensified fears of an economic slowdown amid growth worries in Europe and the United States.

Mini Dow industrial average futures shed 5.00 points to 12,098.00. The Nasdaq Futures added 5.75 points to 2,460.75. Standard and Poor's 500 futures edged 2.60 points higher to 1,276.50.

In China, a data showed that the non-manufacturing sector activity in the world's second-largest economy experienced their slowest growth in more than a year in May. The National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said the purchasing managers' index dropped to 55.2 last month from 56.1 in April.

On the US economic front, the Commerce Department releases report on monthly factory goods orders at 10 am ET. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 0.2 percent rise in for April after a 1.5 percent fall in the prior month.

On Friday, U.S. stocks retreated sharply, closing over 2 percent lower after a key government report showed that U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected last month and unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher, raising fears of an economic slowdown.

Hot Stocks Of The Day: CRM, CHK, SDRL, DNDN, GRPN, VNR

In corporate news, Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has agreed to acquire social media marketing platform Buddy Media for around $689 million in cash and stock and that the enterprise cloud computing company lowered its earnings forecast. CRM shares fell 0.67 percent in premarket.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) added 3.34 percent in premarket. The Oklahoma City-based producer of natural gas agreed with its two largest shareholders, Southeastern Asset Management and Carl Icahn to a plan to reconstitute its board of directors.

Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE:SDRL) retreated 2.36 percent. The provider of offshore drilling services said talks over a new five-year contract for the drillship West Polaris is in a very advanced stage. The potential contract revenue for the five-year period is roughly $1.16 billion.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ:DNDN) slumped 7.54 percent in premarket after Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported positive results of a late-stage trial of Zytiga prostate cancer treatment, a rival medicine to DNDN's Provenge.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) rose 1.03 percent in premarket. The daily coupon website's lockup period expired on Friday, allowing insiders to sell their shares.

Vanguard Natural Resources LLC (NYSE:VNR) agreed to pay $445 million to acquire natural gas and liquids properties in the Arkoma Basin from Antero Resources. The Houston, Texas-based company expects the deal to immediately add to its distributable cash.

Global Markets:

The European markets traded mixed amid concerns over the region's debt crisis, with Germany's DAX losing 0.50 percent to trade at 6,019.80. France's CAC40 advanced 0.79 percent to 2,973.65. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 1.14 percent to 5,260.19.

Among Asian markets, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 2.69 percent to end at 2,309.58. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2.01 percent to close at 18,185.59. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.71 percent to close at 8,295.63. India's BSE Sensex finished at 15,998.40, up 0.15 percent.

Market Scan:

Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures declined 0.76 percent to $82.600 per barrel. Gold shed 0.25 percent to $1,618.1 per ounce.

In the currency market, the euro traded 0.02 percent lower against the U.S. dollar at 1.2433, while the British pound added 0.15 percent against the greenback to 1.5386. The dollar rose 0.18 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.1500. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on crude oil, energy and gas online.