* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a drop on Thursday, adding to the previous session's plunge, as investors worried about the fate of stricken U.S. carmakers and the spectre of a prolonged economic downturn. * At 1033 GMT S&P 500 futures SPc1 were down 1.9 percent, Dow Jones futures DJc1 down 1.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures NDc1 down 2.2 percent. * Banking stocks will remain in the spotlight after Citigroup's (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) woes hit European banks on Thursday, with Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 11 percent, UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 8.6 percent and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 8 percent. Citigroup fell 23 percent to a 13-year low on Wednesday. * Energy shares will be under pressure, as oil fell for a fifth straight session to approach $50 a barrel on renewed worries over demand for fuel. * In the latest sign of a global economic slowdown, Japan's exports to Asia fell in October for the first time since 2002, suggesting that the fallout from the financial crisis has spread to neighbours such as China. * U.S. stocks plunged to their lowest in five-and-a-half years on Wednesday as investors girded for a lengthy economic downturn and automotive executives warned a far-reaching calamity in the absence of a government lifeline. * Chances dimmed that a last-minute plan to provide $25 billion to bail out U.S. automakers would get a green light as U.S. Congress has at most two days remaining in its post-election session. Without a deal this week, any bailout for the industry is likely to have to wait until early 2009. * The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI tumbled 427.47 points on Wednesday, or 5.07 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 6.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 6.5 percent. So far this year, the S&P 500 has lost 45 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average has dropped 40 percent. On the macro front, investors were bracing for weekly jobless claims, due at 1330 GMT, as well as leading indicators, due at 1500 GMT. On the corporate results side, the market will comb through quarterly results from Dell (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which will close out a largely dismal fall tech earnings season. Quarterly results from Gap (GPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Autodesk (ADSK.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are also expected. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

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