By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks headed for a lower open on Thursday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc
Shares of Dow component Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, slid 8 percent to $51.15 before the bell.
The news pointed to further contraction in consumer spending since analysts had hoped cut-price retailers like Wal-Mart would fare better as cash-strapped consumers seek to stretch their dollars amid rising unemployment.
"It's been clear since late last year that the consumer is becoming more frugal," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto. "There's no one-to-one shift, it's not as if all the money they were spending at stores is being spent at discount stores now."
S&P 500 futures shed 7.6 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 fell 82 points while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 7.25 points.
A weekly government report showing an unexpected fall in new claims for unemployment benefits helped futures cut some of their losses but the retail gloom offset the boost from that.
Limited Brands
On the economic front, investors await President-elect Barack Obama's speech on the economy at 11 a.m.
With Thursday marking the market's 5th session of the new year, a down day would fuel anxiety about its ability to push ahead with a recovery from its November 21 bear market low.
According to the Stock Trader's Almanac January's first five days act as an "early warning" on the year's prospects.
Disappointing outlooks from Alcoa Inc
The benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> has risen 20 percent since its November 21 low.
(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by James Dalgleish)
