* Wal-Mart says CEO Scott to retire, names successor
* Worries about autos rescue, economic slump persist
* Dow up 0.5 pct, S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.6 pct
(Updates to midmorning)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors snapped up energy and other beaten-down sectors after Wall Street's two-day slide to an 11-year low on deepening economic fears.
But even with the search for bargains, fresh worry about the future of embattled No. 2 U.S. bank Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) kept a lid on gains, with the stock down more than 22 percent.
"The movement is not likely fundamentally driven, just a function of the extreme weakness in the performance and valuation as a result of the carnage the past couple of days," said Dean Gulis, vice president at Loomis Sayles & Co in Pontiac, Michigan.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI climbed 35.60 points, or 0.47 percent, to 7,587.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 4.50 points, or 0.60 percent, to 756.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC rose 8.03 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,324.15.
Citigroup shares sunk to $3.63 on the New York Stock Exchange following news reports that the company is considering selling pieces of its business or the entire company outright.
Investors remained jittery about the economy after Goldman Sachs forecast the economy would contract by 5 percent at an annual rate in the current quarter and the unemployment rate soar to 9 percent by late 2009 from 6.5 percent in October.
On the bright side, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) , up almost 3 percent, ranked as a top boost to the Dow, countering a drag from Citigroup and JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) , whose stock fell more than 10 percent to $20.81.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 0.4 percent to $550.81 after the world's largest retailer said Lee Scott was retiring as chief executive and named Mike Duke, who heads Wal-Mart's international operations, as successor. [ID:nN21465040]
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. GM shares were down nearly 4 percent at $2.77. (Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
