Futures point to lower Wall Street start as oil rises

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street on Monday as oil prices rise, denting recent optimism over a recovery in consumer spending. By 0824 GMT, S&P 500 futures were down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.41 percent.

* Oil rose more than $1 to top $115 a barrel on Monday, as investors eyed a potential supply threat from tropical storm Fay to oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

* Economic indicators on tap for Monday include the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index for August, due at 1700 GMT, while on the earnings front, retailer Lowe's Companies Inc is due to report results. Investors will be looking for any indications on whether the housing market is bottoming.

* Miners will be in the spotlight after BHP Billiton , the world's biggest mining group, posted a 30 percent rise in half-year profit on Monday in line with market forecasts, boosted by Chinese demand.

* General Motors Corp has had preliminary talks with Hunan Changfeng Motor Co <600991.SS> on a possible sale of its Hummer brand but the Chinese sport utility vehicle (SUV) maker has backed off, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

* Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) <8306.T> clinched a deal to take full control of California bank UnionBanCal Corp , after sweetening its bid 17 percent to $3.5 billion on Monday.

* The U.S. Treasury is growing increasingly likely to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the months ahead on the taxpayer's dime, Barron's reported in its August 18 edition.

* Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are responding to the credit crisis with a system that uses the market's view of their own creditworthiness as a basis for lending decisions, the Financial Times reported.

* The financial crisis will probably not end until next year or even 2010, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper quoted Morgan Stanley co-President Walid Chammah as saying.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Quentin Bryar)

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