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* Euro zone manufacturing picks up in October
* Weyerhaeuser to sell homebuilding unit for $2.7 bln
* U.S. factory orders data on tap
* Futures up: Dow 51 pts, S&P 5.9 pts, Nasdaq 16.25 pts
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futuresadvanced on Monday, indicating the S&P 500 will continue to riseafter four straight weeks of gains and build on its latestrecord high.
The benchmark S&P index has risen 4.2 percent overthe past four weeks as the partial U.S. government shutdown inOctober pushed back expectations for the Federal Reserve tobegin curtailing its stimulus measures into the first quarter of2014.
But recent manufacturing data has come in stronger thanexpected, lending weight to the possibility the economy couldhandle an earlier-than-expected tapering of the central bank'sbond-buying program.
"Given the government shutdown, conventional wisdom hadtapering delayed until next year, however, given the recent dataan earlier tapering is certainly on the table for December,"said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC inBernardsville, New Jersey.
"Whether it happens in December or the next several monthsafter that, investors are keenly aware that it will happen andat some point that dynamic will end."
Still, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullardtold CNBC television the Fed should not rush a decision to scaleback its asset purchase program because of low inflation.
Adding to optimism, a survey on Monday showed euro zonemanufacturing activity accelerated in October as new ordersincreased for a fourth month, although strong competition leftfactories with scant room to raise prices.
Economic data expected on Monday includes August andSeptember factory orders at 10:00 a.m. (1500 GMT). Economists ina Reuters survey expect August factory orders to rise 0.3percent versus a 2.4 percent drop in July orders while Septemberorders are expected to be up 1.7 percent.
S&P 500 futures rose 5.9 points and were above fairvalue, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into accountinterest rates, dividends and time to expiration on thecontract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 51points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 16.25 points.
Weyerhaeuser Co is selling its homebuilding divisionto Tri Pointe Homes Inc in a $2.7 billion deal that willleave Weyerhaeuser shareholders in control of one of the 10largest homebuilders in the United States.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd is struggling toraise financing for its $4.7 billion bid for BlackBerry Ltd, with several large banks declining to participate onconcerns that the smartphone maker will not be able to reverseits fortunes, according to people familiar with the matter.Still, U.S.-listed shares of BlackBerry Ltd rose 3.5percent to $8.04 in premarket trade.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp is considering the sale ofits holdings in oil and gas projects in China in a deal thatcould be valued at about $1 billion, sources familiar with thematter said.
In Europe, shares in banking heavyweight HSBC gained on strong results, in a rising market supported atfive-year highs by expectations of additional monetary stimulusfrom the European Central Bank.
Asian stocks eased in sluggish trade amid investor cautionahead of central bank meetings in Europe and the release of theU.S. payrolls report.
