* Futures point to bounce at open after 2-day slide * Citigroup mulling sales -- report; stock up pre-market * Higher oil price likely to boost energy shares * Worries about autos, deepening economic slump linger By Ellis Mnyandu NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as investors looked set to follow up two days of steep losses that sent Wall Street to an 11-year low by scooping up shares of banks and other beaten-down sectors. News that embattled Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was mulling selling pieces of the No. 2 U.S. bank or the entire company outright sparked short-covering among bank stocks, a day after Citigroup shares plunged to its lowest in about 1 1/2 decades amid fears about its future. Citigroup's board of directors is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss options, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. For details, see [ID:nN20470744] Citigroup shares were up 12.1 percent to $5.28 before the bell, while the Financial Select Sector exchange-traded fund, which tracks S&P 500 financials XLF,climbed 3.3 percent. "The last two days the reason I have not considered buying stocks is strictly due to Citigroup," said Matt McCall, president of Penn Financial Group in Ridgewood, New Jersey. "The market is very oversold and due for a short-term rally. So what you're likely to see is more short-covering." S&P 500 futures SPc1 were 23.1 points higher and were above 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 DJc1 climbed 233 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures gained 26.75 points. U.S. crude oil futures rose above $50 a barrel on Friday, which could make energy shares among gainers. But even with the likely bounce, Goldman Sachs said it now forecast real GDP dropping at a 5 percent annual rate in the current quarter and sees the unemployment rate reaching 9 percent by the fourth quarter 2009. Investors were cautious as concerns about the failure of U.S. automakers, including General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), to secure an immediate government bailout to avert possible bankruptcy linger. A bright spot emerged after Thursday's closing bell when shares of Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 6.3 percent to $10.43 after the world's No. 2 PC maker reported stronger-than-expected profit as cost cuts tempered lower revenue. [ID:nN20401261]. In housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest home loan finance companies, said they would suspend foreclosures of occupied homes until early 2009 -- one of the biggest moves to date by the government to staunch the wave of evictions and home losses. [ID:nN20621384]. The benchmark S&P 500 is now more than 52 percent below its October 2007 record high, making the current bear market the second biggest on record. The current decline is exceeded only by the 83 percent drop between 1930 and 1932, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

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