* AIG selling foreign life unit to MetLife for $15.5 bln
* Crude hits 8-week high on weaker dollar
* Toyota sees North American sales recovery
* Futures up: Dow by 12 pts, S&P 1.4 pts, Nasdaq 1.75 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
(Updates prices, adds quote)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Monday following a strong rally to end last
week's session, when the Nasdaq closed at an 18-month high on
better-than-expected February payroll data.
On Friday, the government said 36,000 U.S. jobs were lost
in February, compared with forecasts 50,000, resulting in a
rally that pushed the Dow and S&P to close at six-week highs.
American International Group Inc <AIG.N> agreed to sell its
Alico foreign life insurance unit to MetLife Inc <MET.N> for
about $15.5 billion, leaving AIG with a substantial minority
stake in MetLife. AIG rose 2.2 percent to $28.70 before the
bell. For details, see: [ID:nN08154999]
"The market really got a pleasant surprise with the jobs
number on Friday, so even though AIG raising money is good
news, we don't have too much higher to go without any
catalysts," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies &
Co in Boston.
In other acquisition news, Bank of New York Mellon Corp
<BK.N> agreed to acquire Germany's BHF Asset Servicing GmbH for
about $343 million. [ID:nSGE6270BT]
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 1.4 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> added 12
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> gained 1.75 points.
H&R Block Inc <HRB.N> is the sole S&P 500 company scheduled
to report quarterly results on Monday, while the only economic
data will be the February employment trend number.
Investors digested comments by China's central bank
governor Zhou Xiaochuan, who said the timing of China's exit
from economic stimulus would require prudence, easing concerns
over immediate monetary policy tightening. [ID:nTOE62701T]
In overseas markets, Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> rose
2.1 percent to a six-week closing high on Monday, with
exporters up on a weaker yen, while European shares <.FTEU3>
was flat in early trade.
Toyota Motor Corp's <TM.N><7203.T> president said Monday he
believed North American sales could recover in March after a
sharp decline last month following a safety crisis led to a
recall of some 8.5 million vehicles globally. [ID:nTOE62704P]
With the Friday rally, all three indexes are now positive
for the year. Last week the Dow rose 2.3 percent, the Nasdaq
added 3.9 percent, and the S&P 500 climbed 3.1 percent.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)