Wall St seen opening lower on Wal-Mart, Cisco

By Ellis Mnyandu

A report showing a higher-than-expected number of people claiming first-time unemployment benefits last week and the Nasdaq composite index's drop into bear market territory also increased investors' unease.

The Labor Department said new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week but to a level above what economists had expected.

S&P 500 futures dropped 15.10 points and were below fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

The one-two punch from Wal-Mart and Cisco came a day after the Nasdaq composite index descended into bear market territory, falling more than 20 percent from its October closing peak, as tech shares pulled Wall Street to a third straight day of losses.

(Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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