RTRS: US stock futures point to drop; retail sales eyed
* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, on rekindled fears over the global economic outlook and the stability of the financial system.
* At 0923 GMT, futures for the S&P 500 SPc1 were down 0.9 percent, Dow Jones DJc1 futures were down 0.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures were down 0.7 percent.
* Freddie Mac (FRE.P: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of the two main U.S. mortgage companies that the U.S. government is depending on to help stabilise the housing market, said on Wednesday it needs $30.8 billion from the Treasury to survive, after reporting a net loss of $23.9 billion, nearly 10 times that of a year ago.
* China, the engine of world economic growth in recent years, saw industrial output growth shrink to a record low at the start of the year, but a continued surge in bank lending in February spurred optimism the economy could rebound soon.
* World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the global economy may shrink 1-2 percent this year, while revised Japanese data confirmed the world's No. 2 economy suffered its deepest slump since the oil shock of 1974.
* Investors will keep an eye on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing on mark-to-market accounting rules, which have been blamed for forcing banks to report billions of dollars in write-downs.
* On the macro front, the market will focus on monthly retail sales, as well as weekly jobless claims.
* Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has struck a deal with Genentech Inc (DNA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to acquire all outstanding shares in the U.S. biotech group for $46.8 billion, or $95 a share, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.
* Nortel Networks Corp (NT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is in talks to sell its two main businesses to rivals, a sign the firm could break itself apart rather than emerge from bankruptcy as planned.
* U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.
* The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 3.91 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,930.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX added 1.76 points, or 0.24 percent, to 721.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC rose 13.36 points, or 0.98 percent, to 1,371.64. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Simon Jessop)
