Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, retreating for the third consecutive session as sinking oil prices continue to weigh on energy stocks, while investors eagerly await news of a potential bailout for stricken automakers.
Highlights:
* At 4:33 a.m. EST S&P 500 March futures were down 1.2 percent, Dow Jones futures were down 0.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2 percent.
* General Motors Corp and Chrysler are close to securing emergency loans as part of a U.S. government aid package that would demand sweeping restructuring at the troubled automakers, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Bridge loans to carry the companies for several months could be announced as early as Friday said the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations.
* In the latest sign of trouble in the auto industry, Toyota Motor Corp is likely to report its first annual parent-only operating loss in 71 years, hit by plunging sales and the soaring yen, Japanese media reported on Friday.
The world's biggest automaker is set to issue revised forecasts for its parent-only and consolidated profits for the year to March at a year-end news conference scheduled on Monday, the Chunichi Shimbun and Kyodo news agency said.
* Business software maker Oracle Corp posted a drop in new sales and said they could fall up to 10 percent in the current quarter, but relieved investors who feared even worse sent the shares up 3.4 percent in extended trade on Thursday.
The forecast of a drop in new license sales of nil to 10 percent met Wall Street targets and analysts said the No. 3 software maker is keeping costs in line and achieving reasonable sales in the midst of the economic downturn.
* Research In Motion delivered a quarterly profit in line with forecasts and a rosier-than-expected outlook on Thursday that reflects strong holiday sales of its BlackBerry smartphones even as the global economy slows. * Financial stocks will remain in focus after Credit Suisse Group AG said will pay senior executive bonuses with troublesome, illiquid assets, forcing employees to take on the risk that at least some of them put on the Swiss bank's books.
* Global ratings agency Moody's Investors Service cut Citigroup's debt ratings, saying it expects the bank may loose money in the coming quarters as it sets aside more funds for loan losses.
* Oil was stable around $36 on Friday, after falling more than 20 percent this week as OPEC's record supply cut failed to build a floor under prices and instead was viewed as a sign of a worsening demand slump.
* Companies reporting earnings on Friday include Jabil Circuit Inc and Cintas Corp, while no major macroeconomic data is scheduled.
