RTRS: US stock index futures signal drop as car bailout fails
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a drop in early trade on Wall Street after the U.S. Senate failed to approve a rescue plan for the ailing auto industry and Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unveiled massive job cuts.
* At 0902 GMT S&P 500 March futures SPc2, Dow Jones futures DJc2 and Nasdaq 100 futures NDc2 were down 2.9 to 3.6 percent.
* Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it plans to eliminate 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over three years, reflecting its pending purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and weaker business activity stemming from the economic recession.
* Bank of America's shares traded in Frankfurt (BAC.F: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were down 8.4 percent.
* General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares traded in Frankfurt (GM.F: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were down 28 percent, while Ford (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares traded in Frankfurt (F.F: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped 11 percent.
* GM and Chrysler LLC have warned of potential collapse if they did not receive a bailout. They both said that in the face of their cash crises, they had hired outside advisers to help them explore possible bankruptcy, which they found had too many drawbacks.
* The European auto sector also came under pressure on the news of the failed bailout bid, with the DJ Stoxx European auto index down 4 percent, Daimler (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) losing 6.6 percent and Michelin (MICP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) off 5 percent, while shares of Japanese carmakers Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Nissan (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sank 10-11.5 percent in Tokyo overnight.
* Economic data expected on Friday includes retail sales for November, the producer price index numbers, business inventories and consumer sentiment. No major company is due to report results.
* U.S. retail sales fell sharply in November, said economists polled by Reuters, as the U.S. job market worsened and consumers became cautious spenders, while sliding petroleum prices and a slumping global economy probably caused producer prices to fall last month, economists predicted in a Reuters poll.
* Tech shares will be in the spotlight after Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gave a pessimistic forecast for the overall 2009 telecoms equipment market, sending its shares down 6 percent. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)
