Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2 percent at 0804 GMT (4:04 a.m. ET).

The flood of U.S. Federal Reserve money that has supported Wall Street and the rest of the U.S. economy for 2-1/2 years will shrink to a trickle with the conclusion of the Fed's bond purchases announced on Friday.

The Fed said it will buy $50 billion of U.S. Treasuries, the final series of government bond purchases that marks the last phase of a $600 billion program launched in November 2010 to prevent recession.

Allied World Assurance Co Holdings is to buy Transatlantic Holdings for $3.2 billion in stock, creating a specialty insurer and reinsurer with broader reach and product offering.

Crude fell on Monday, extending WTI's record discount to Brent to almost $20, as growing investor concern about a slowdown in the United States and other industrialized economies combined with rising output from Saudi Arabia.

European shares were up 0.3 percent in early trade as bargain hunters start to look into the debris after six weeks of losses. Concerns over the health of the global economy and the lack of consensus from policymakers on how to tackle Greece's debt crisis were limiting gains.

European policymakers appeared no closer to finalizing an agreement over whether private investors would take part in a restructuring of Greek debt, with Germany sticking to its guns even as the European Central Bank warned of potential market turmoil.

Overnight, data showed China's money growth slowed to a 30-month low in May and banks extended fewer new loans than expected as tighter monetary policy started to bite.

In Japan, core machinery orders unexpectedly fell in April, suggesting a bumpy recovery from the earthquake and tsunami as companies delay capital spending until reconstruction-driven demand materializes.

The Dow and S&P 500 closed out their sixth week of losses on Friday as further signs of a global economic slowdown set the stage for more losses ahead.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 172.45 points, or 1.4 percent, to 11,951.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 18.02 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,270.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> tumbled 41.14 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,643.73 at the close.

For the week, the Dow was down 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 was off 2.2 percent and the Nasdaq was down 3.3 percent.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Dan Lalor)

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