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MARKET PULSE-EBay, Amazon, Petrobras, JinkoSolar, FreeSeas, Akamai

(For more market insights, including options activity, click on ; for the Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, http://link.reuters.com/nex49s)

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday after eight straight weeks of gains after mixed data on China and the euro zone and ahead of economic reports that could provide some clues on the strength of the U.S. recovery.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.9 point and were slightly 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 shed 2 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4.75 points.

** EBAY INC (NasdaqGS: EBAY - news) , Friday close $50.52, up 2.4 pct premarket

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** AMAZON.COM INC, Friday close $393.62, up 0.5 pct premarket

Heavy discounting took a toll on U.S. retail sales during the Thanksgiving weekend as shoppers spent almost 3 percent less than they did a year earlier, according to data released Sunday by an industry group. One bright spot was e-commerce as online sales soared, according to the data.

Amazon is testing delivery packages using drones, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said Sunday on the CBS television program "60 Minutes." Bezos said the drones, unmanned vehicles that fly through the air, could deliver packages that weigh up to five pounds (2.3 kg). That represents roughly 86 percent of packages that Amazon delivers, he said.

** PETROBRAS, Friday close $15.94, down 8.6 pct premarket

The Brazilian state-run oil company said on Friday that it would raise the wholesale price of gasoline by 4 percent and diesel by 8 percent to cut losses and bring domestic fuel costs closer to international levels.

** AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES INC (NasdaqGS: AKAM - news) , Friday close $44.72

The company, whose products help move content quickly over the Internet, said it would buy cloud-based cyber security provider Prolexic Technologies Inc for about $370 million to better protect its Internet content delivery services against increasing hacker attacks.

** ROCKWOOD HOLDINGS INC, Friday close $68.46

The U.S. chemical maker said it acquired a 49 percent stake in Perth-based miner Talison Lithium Pty Ltd through its joint venture with China's Chengdu Tianqi Industry Group. Rockwood bid for Talsion last year but lost out to Tianqi, which bought Talison for about C$848 million ($800.98 million).

Rockwood will contribute $196 million to the venture and provide a two-year secured loan of up to $670 million. The company will also grant Tianqi a three-year call option to invest 20-30 percent in the European arm of Rockwood's global lithium business.

** JINKOSOLAR HOLDING CO LTD, Friday close $29.39, up 1.4 pct premarket

The Chinese solar panel maker said it signed an agreement with the government of Lingwu City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, to develop a 200 megawatt (MW) ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant. JinkoSolar said the investment related to the project is expected to be about 4.6 billion yuan ($754.94 million).

JinkoSolar, whose shares have risen nearly seven-fold this year, has 105 MW of projects connected to grids.

** FOSTER WHEELER AG (NasdaqGS: FWLT - news) , Friday close $30.33

British oil services group Petrofac Ltd is not interested in acquiring the Swiss-based engineering company, a source familiar with the UK company said on Sunday. Britain's Sunday Times reported that Petrofac (Frankfurt: A0HF9Y - news) had entered the race to buy Foster Wheeler, setting up a possible bid battle against Britain's Amec PLC (Other OTC: AMCBF - news) for the $3 billion Nasdaq-listed company.

** FREESEAS INC (NasdaqCM: FREE - news) , Friday close $0.37, down 6.5 pct premarket

The company, which transports dry bulk cargo, announced a one-for-five reverse stock split. FreeSeas has nearly 19 million common shares outstanding.

The company, whose shares have lost more than three-quarters of their value over the past year, had a one-for-ten reverse stock split in February. The stock traded at more than $70 last year.

** COMCAST CORP, Friday close $49.87

The largest U.S. cable operator is testing new advertising technology that inserts up-to-date commercials into past episodes of TV shows that are available on demand, a development that could help television networks generate additional revenue.

** CHEVRON CORP, Friday close $122.44

The U.S. oil major has resumed its search for shale gas in eastern Romania, it said, despite opposition from local residents. In October, the company won approval to drill exploratory wells in the small town of Pungesti in the impoverished eastern county of Vaslui but had to halt works soon after as local residents blocked access to the site.

** ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO, Friday close $40.25

Australia rejected a A$2.8 billion ($2.56 billion) takeover of GrainCorp Ltd by the U.S. agribusiness giant on Friday, bowing to pressure from grain growers in a rare and surprising decision.

** HESS CORP, Friday close $81.13

Indonesia's Pertamina said it joined with Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production to purchase Hess's stake in two Indonesian offshore oilfields for $1.3 billion.

** METLIFE INC (NYSE: MET - news) , Friday close $52.91

** CITIGROUP INC (NYSE: C - news) , Friday close $52.92

Five insurers including MetLife and AIA Group Ltd have submitted final bids to have their products distributed by Citigroup in Asia, a deal estimated to generate more than $10 billion in revenue over 15 years, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

($1 = 1.09 Australian dollars) ($1 = 1.06 Canadian dollars) ($1 = 6.09 Chinese yuan) (Compiled by Avik Das in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)