By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Thursday as investors worried that government data due before the opening bell could show a further weakening in the labor market and another drop in consumer spending.
Although Congress prepared to pass as early as Thursday a $789 billion economic stimulus package, investors are worried it may not be enough to end the 14-month-old recession.
Financial shares again looked set to lead declines due to persistent unease over a lack of clarity about how a bailout plan that the Obama administration unveiled on Tuesday would alleviate toxic assets from the bank's books.
A drop on Wall Street would extend a global sell-off that roiled stock markets in Asia overnight, with Japan's Nikkei <.N225> falling more than 3 percent. In Europe, stocks were pulled to a one-week low by banks and energy companies.
"There's no catalyst out there right now to bring buyers back into the market," said Matt McCall, president of Penn Financial Group in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
"There's still uncertainty over what the stimulus plan is going to bring and there's uncertainty over the 'bad-bank' plan. The government is trying to piecemeal everything instead of coming up with one big plan that can maybe successfully attempt to solve everything."
S&P 500 futures fell 7.50 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 were down 61 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 7 points.
The reports on weekly jobless claims and on January retail sales are due at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Signs of more labor market woes could weigh on sentiment as rising unemployment makes consumers more guarded about their spending, a key driver of corporate profit.
Before the bell, shares of Bank of America
Coca-Cola Co
The stimulus package is split 36 percent for tax cuts and 64 percent in spending and other provisions, just below the 40/60 split U.S. President Barack Obama called for in his effort to begin pulling the economy out of the a recession that started in December 2007.
U.S. stocks rose in a choppy session on Wednesday after lawmakers reached a compromise deal on the stimulus package.
(Editing by Tom Hals)
