Monday February 9, 10:12 AM
US stock futures dip; stimulus, bank rescue plans eyed
* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, as stocks surrender a portion of their recent lofty gains while investors keenly await the approval of Washington's huge stimulus plan and bank rescue package.
* At 0938 GMT, futures for the S&P 500 were down 1.3 percent, the Dow Jones (news) futures were down 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: news) futures were down 0.9 percent.
* Top aides to U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Democratic and Republican lawmakers to set aside political differences and quickly give the green light to a huge economic stimulus package this week.
* Later on Monday, the Democratic-led Senate, with the help of a handful of Republicans, was due to vote to end debate on the $827 billion plan to clear the way for its passage on Tuesday. The bill must then be reconciled with the $819 billion version passed earlier by the House of Representatives without any Republican support.
* On Sunday, the Obama administration pushed back until Tuesday the announcement of an eagerly-awaited bank rescue plan as it pressed lawmakers to settle their differences over a huge economic stimulus package. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will outline the bailout plan in a speech at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, the Treasury Department said.
* Tech shares will be in the spotlight after South Korea's LG Electronics Inc (066575.KS - news) , the maker of mobile phones, TVs and appliances, said it is aiming to cut $2.2 billion in costs and expects about a 20 percent decline in sales in dollar terms this year amid the spreading global recession.
* Banking shares will also be in focus after British bank Barclays Plc said bonus payments across the bank would almost halve for 2008 as it reported a 14 percent drop in annual profit and said it faces a tough year ahead. Its profit beat expectations, however, and the bank's shares jumped over 7 percent in early trading on Monday. But concerns in the sector remained high, with shares of Nomura Holdings Inc (N33.SI - news) , Japan's biggest brokerage, sinking more than 14 percent to a 26-year low on Monday after its plan to issue up to $3.3 billion in new stock to bolster its capital triggered dilution concerns.
* Nissan Motor Co (Berlin: NISA.BE - news) joined a growing list of automakers warning of red ink this year on the global car slump, marking its first loss since Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn took the reins a decade ago. Japan's No.3 automaker also said it would slash production in the year to March by 20 percent, and group-wide headcount by 20,000 workers by the end of March 2010, mostly through natural attrition in Japan.
* General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM - news) is in talks to take back large portions of Delphi Corp (DPHIQ.PK - news) , the parts supplier spun off by the auto maker a decade ago, The Wall Street Journal reported, which said the move is part of a strategy to qualify for additional government loans.
* U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Friday on hopes Washington's stimulus package and a bank rescue plan would help revive the stricken economy, even as data showed the biggest one-month job losses in 34 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 217.52 points, or 2.70 percent, to 8,280.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 22.75 points, or 2.69 percent, to 868.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 45.47 points, or 2.94 percent, at 1,591.71.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS US EUROPE
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