Stock futures lower on banks, Wal-Mart : US Business

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Tuesday after Oppenheimer & Co slashed its price targets on a number of brokerages and on concern about Wal-Mart Stores Inc's outlook.

A number of Federal Reserve speakers will be on Tuesday's calendar, including Chairman Ben Bernanke talking about financial markets at 8:20 a.m. EDT.

European stocks were lower, dragged down by banks after a write-down related rights issue at France's Credit Agricole and a jump in UK inflation. Stocks in Asia closed higher.

Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney cut her price targets on Goldman Sachs , Lehman Brothers , Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley . Whitney said the outlook was bleaker than reflected in the market.

While Wal-Mart said the year was off to a "solid start," it indicated results for the current quarter could miss Wall Street estimates as it faces a tough economic environment, higher transportation costs and customers who are running out of money between paychecks. Shares fell 3 percent before the bell.

"Wal-Mart's forward guidance was a little light, so that's going to put some pressure on the market," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

"Also, Meredith Whitney downgraded some banking stocks. Given her reputation based on the first phase of this crisis -- which she called right -- her advice should be listened to."

S&P 500 futures fell 4.6 points, below fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 39 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 3.5 points.

Given that Wal-Mart's rise in profit was helped by shoppers looking for bargains on necessities, investors will keep a close eye on data for April retail sales due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, U.S. consumers will use much of their tax rebate money to pay for increasingly expensive gas and groceries rather than spend it on electronics or clothes,

Apart from retail sales, economic data on tap includes import prices, business inventories and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's quarterly survey.

Windham Financial Services' Mendelsohn said the jump in UK inflation may fuel caution in the U.S. stock market before U.S. inflation data on Wednesday.

On Monday, U.S. stocks closed higher as the introduction of a faster BlackBerry spurred optimism about business spending on technology, while cooling oil prices eased inflation concerns

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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