(REUTERS) - Stock index futures pointed to a jump on Wall Street on Monday after the government seized control of major mortgage firms Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N).

* By 5 a.m. EDT, S&P 500 futures Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq 100 futures are up between 2.1 percent and 2.8 percent.

* On Sunday, Washington took control of the two mortgage finance firms in a move to help the troubled housing market and the economy. The bailout, prompted by concerns over the companies' shrinking capital, is the latest in a series of emergency steps taken by U.S. authorities to ease what is now a year-long credit market crisis.

* The news spurred strong gains on stock exchanges in Asia and Europe. Japan's Nikkei average (.N225) ended up 3.4 percent, while in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 (.FTSE), Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) and France's CAC 40 (.FCHI) are up between 3.6 percent and 4.6 percent, led by strong gains in financials.

* Freddie Mac's stock traded in Frankfurt (FRE.F) is down 50 percent.

* Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH.N) will also be in focus. The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday that Japan's Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) is considering acquiring a stake in the U.S. investment bank, while the Financial Times reported on Monday that Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) (RY.N) considered buying Lehman Brothers in July, but decided against the move because it doubted the U.S. bank's ability to shore up its balance sheet.

* On the M&A front, cigarette maker Altria Group Inc (MO.N) has agreed to buy Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco makerUST Inc (UST.N) for about $10.3 billion in cash, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Origin Energy Ltd (ORG.AX), fending off an $11 billion hostile bid from Britain's BG Group Plc (BG.L), is to spin off its coalbed methane assets into a joint venture with U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips (COP.N).

* Boeing Co's (BA.N) 27,000 machinists prepared for a third day of strike action, halting production at the plane maker's Seattle-area plants in protest at Boeing's contract offer and what they see as plans to shift more jobs to non-union and foreign firms.

* Economic indicators on tap for Monday include consumer credit for July, while on the earnings side, National Semiconductor (NSM.N) is due to report quarterly results.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Simon Jessop)

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