Stock futures signal early dip; Chevron eyed (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with S&P 500 futures down 0.14 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.10 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.01 percent at 0925 GMT.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N) will be in the spotlight after it warned that fourth-quarter profit would be significantly below the previous quarter, with production still falling short of prior expectations. Shares of the group trading in Frankfurt (CVX.F) were down 2.1 percent.

Nervous investors kept the euro currency and European stocks within narrow ranges on Thursday morning with the markets focused on any signal from the European Central Bank's rate meeting about a policy easing and a Spanish bond sale that will test demand for Europe's debt.

The ECB was seen taking a breather this month after cutting interest rates, pausing to assess the impact of a series of measures it took in late 2011. In a Reuters poll, 56 out of 66 economists expected rates to remain at the current level, with investor focus on a news conference with ECB President Mario Draghi, starting at 1330 GMT.

Greece may need more funds from European partners bailing out the country if not enough private creditors sign up for a voluntary swap of bonds to cut the country's debt burden, its deputy finance minister said on Thursday.

China's inflation rate eased to a 15-month low in December, though food prices are a reminder of the risks the government is weighing as it tilts policy towards boosting growth as internal and external demand for Chinese goods falters.

Car sales in China climbed 5.2 percent in 2011, the slowest pace since the nation's car culture took off at the turn of the century, as consumers shunned local brands after Beijing scrapped tax incentives for small cars.

China's economy is being weighed down by slowing growth in the United States and the European Union, but the possibility of a hard landing should be ruled out, said David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) is to axe 3,500 investment bank jobs and sell or shut equities and advisory business under a 3-year plan to further reduce risk and focus more on domestic retail and corporate banking.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp (BGFV.O) cut its quarterly earnings forecast and posted weak sales, as a warmer-than-expected weather hurt demand for winter merchandise, sending shares down 13 percent in after-hours trading.

Infosys Ltd (INFY.NS), the No.2 Indian software exporter, trimmed its full-year revenue growth outlook for a second time and warned of lower client spending due to the debt crisis in Europe, sending its shares down nearly 8 percent to their lowest in more than a month.

Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF.N) said on Wednesday it agreed to acquire Southeast investment bank and brokerage Morgan Keegan from Regions Financial Corp (RF.N) for $930 million in stock, concluding a drawn-out auction.

Morgan Stanley has cut 10 fixed-income jobs, mainly in sales and trading, in Singapore and Hong Kong, as competition from Asian banks heats up in that asset class and traditional markets shrink.

On the macro front, investors awaited weekly jobless claims and December retail sales as well as business inventories for November.

U.S. stocks held firm near recent five-month highs on Wednesday as investors awaited key bond market tests for Europe in the next two days that could determine the direction of the euro zone crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slipped 13.02 points, or 0.10 percent, to 12,449.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX)(.INX) gained 0.40 points, or 0.03 percent, to 1,292.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 8.26 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,710.76.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120112/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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