Stock futures fall as oil soars on Libya fears

U.S. crude oil futures soared nearly $3 a barrel to $101 on mounting fears the unrest in Libya that has cut more than one-quarter of the OPEC-member's crude output could spread to other major producers in the region, including top exporter Saudi Arabia.

The spotlight will be on General Motors Co as the automaker is expected to report full-year earnings of more than $5 billion, its first annual profit in six years. But rising commodity prices and its European operations are seen as putting a drag on fourth-quarter performance.

Limited Brands Inc said Wednesday that fourth-quarter net income rose 27 percent as fewer markdowns and more full-priced sales boosted results.

S&P 500 futures fell 7.5 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 46 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 14.5 points.

Adding to this week's global sell-off triggered by the turmoil in Libya, European stocks fell around 0.7 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei average closed down 1.2 percent.

In the latest economic data, durable goods orders and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. EST and new home sales data comes at 10 a.m. EST.

An announcement on the winner of a $35 billion battle between Boeing Co and Airbus to supply in-flight refueling aircraft to the U.S. Air Force looked set for Thursday.

Citigroup Inc will restructure its North American retail bank and credit card units, according to internal memos obtained by Reuters.

On the earnings front, American International Group Inc , Applied Materials Inc , Gap Inc and Target Corp are due to report later in the day.

U.S. stocks dropped for a second straight session on Wednesday as Libya's violence sent oil prices up and as technology shares sank.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)