LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures dropped on Wednesday with markets focused on renewed strength in oil and the upcoming release of retail sales data. S&P 500 futures fell 7.5 points to 899.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 16 points to 1,369.00. Dow industrial futures dropped 48 points. U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday on a drop for banks and growing concerns over a General Motors bankruptcy. The S&P 500 ended nearly a point lower and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 15 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, rising 50 points on gains for defensive health-care concerns Pfizer and Merck as well as oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil as oil prices briefly hit $60 a barrel. Credit Suisse's global equity strategists said they're becoming more defensive, saying the price-to-book of cyclical companies relative to defensive firms is now nearly one standard deviation above its normal, and the price-to-earnings ratio relative to the market is even more extreme. Ahead of weekly energy inventory data, oil futures crept up 29 cents to $59.14 a barrel. "With the technical picture improving on a day-by-day basis it was no surprise to see crude continuing to edge higher in a move triggered as usual by further weakness in the U.S. dollar," said analysts at ODL Securities. "From a fundamental point of view this price advance in crude is difficult to justify as market participants keep ignoring the present supply vs. demand clash and rather focus on hopes of better days ahead. Today's EIA stats are expected to show a small build in crude stocks but its impact could be limited if any, given the strong buying momentum," they said. The dollar slipped against the Japanese yen though it was steady vs. the euro. Key economic data also is due for release, with April retail sales and import prices due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, and business inventories data for March coming at 10 a.m. High Frequency Economics analysts said the retail report is a tricky call, because the shifting timing of Easter makes seasonal adjustment difficult. Foreclosure filings -- defined as default notices, auction-sale notices, and bank repossessions -- were reported on 342,038 U.S. properties in April, up less than 1% from March and up 32% from April 2008, RealtyTrac reported on Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also is due to deliver a speech. Intel (INTC 15.40, +0.19, +1.25%) edged up 0.9% as the CEO Paul Otellini told analysts that the business was a little better than expected during the second quarter, and Intel separately was fined 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) by the European Commission over alleged antitrust violations. Ford Motor Co. (F 4.80, -0.21, -4.19%) fell 3.8% to $4.82 to as the automaker gave details of its secondary offering. It is selling 300 million shares for $4.75 each. Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS 21.26, +0.61, +2.95%) climbed close to 6% after increasing 2009 earnings guidance. IBM (IBM 103.35, -0.59, -0.57%) is holding an analyst presentation. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.7% to close at a nine-month high, and the Nikkei 225 tacked on 0.5% in Tokyo. The pan-Europe Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 1.5%, while the FTSE 100 down 1% in London.

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