U.S. stock futures lost ground Thursday ahead of the release of what could be the worst retail sales report in forty years, underlying the fragile economy that Congress earmarked $789 billion to fix. S&P 500 futures dropped 9.5 points to 822.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 13.75 points to 1,210.70. Dow industrial futures fell 81 points. U.S. stocks rose Wednesday on a news of a compromise on a $789 billion stimulus bill. The Dow industrials rose 50 points, the Nasdaq Composite added 5 points and the S&P 500 added 6 points. The seventh straight fall in retail sales is expected when January figures are released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, and weekly jobless claims and December business inventories data are also due. "We expect today's report to show that retail sales fell 0.4% in January, marking the seventh consecutive monthly decline and pushing the year-on-year growth rate to -10%," said economists from Barclays Capital. "This would easily be the fastest pace of decrease in the 40-year history of the data. Part of this fall reflects the sharp drop in inflation, particularly commodity prices, which have depressed gasoline sales. " The dollar lost ground against the Japanese yen but rose against others, notably the British pound. Strategists at BNP Paribas said countries seem to be using currencies as a tool in fighting the global economic downturn, citing Wednesday's interest-rate cut in Sweden and the suggestion by the Bank of England of imminent quantitative easing. "The extent of the global slowdown is now starting to be recognized by monetary authorities, with governments and central banks slashing forecasts and policy rates," the strategists said. "There also appears to be an increasing trend to use the currency as part of the overall policy response, particularly among inflation-targeting central banks which are running out of room with interest rates." Oil futures slipped 41 cents to $35.53 a barrel after Wednesday's sharp fall. Gold futures held around $945 an ounce. "Challenging the $1000 an ounce level is now a distinct possibility," said analysts from ODL Securities in London. "The short, medium and long-term trends are all bullish." Results are due from media group Viacom , hotels firm Marriott International and insurer Aetna , among others. Activision Blizzard may be active as the maker of the "Guitar Hero" video game said its fourth-quarter earnings excluding deferred game sales would have beat Wall Street estimates. The company issued a forecast for the current period that was below expectations, citing a desire to remain cautious given the downturn. Rio Tinto struck a deal that will give it $19.5 billion in return from the Aluminum Corp. of China in return for an increased stake in the overall group and stakes in prime assets. The Chinese firm, better known as Chinalco, separately took over its joint interest in Rio Tinto from Alcoa in return for $1 billion. Diageo fell over 5% in London action as the alcoholic beverages maker cut its earnings forecast for the full fiscal year. First half profit rose 16%, the maker of Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka said. In Asia, stocks dropped, with the Nikkei 225 falling 3% after a one-day break. "Investors feel the $789 billion rescue plan can't help the U.S. economic recovery in a hurry. The problem is that the recession there appears to be deepening," said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial. In Europe, oil producers and companies reporting downbeat earnings led a market downturn. The FTSE 100 fell 1.2% in London and the German DAX 30 dropped 2.1%.

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