US STOCKS-Wal-Mart, spending woes to drag market at open

                                
 * Wal-Mart Q4 profit outlook cut fans spending worry
                                
 * Obama to speak on the economy at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT)
                                
 * Jobless claims drop, but eyes on Dec non-farm payrolls
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Recasts first paragraph, updates prices)
                                
 By Ellis Mnyandu
                                
 NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks headed for a lower
open on Thursday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> posted
disappointing December sales and cut its fourth-quarter profit
outlook, compounding investors' concerns about the worsening
recession.
                                
 Shares of Dow component Wal-Mart, the world's largest
retailer, slid 8 percent to $51.15 before the bell. For details
see [ID:nWNAB7881].
                                
 The news pointed to further contraction in consumer
spending since analysts had hoped cut-price retailers like
Wal-Mart would fare better as cash-strapped consumers seek to
stretch their dollars amid rising unemployment.
                                
 "It's been clear since late last year that the consumer is
becoming more frugal," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment
strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto. "There's no
one-to-one shift, it's not as if all the money they were
spending at stores is being spent at discount stores now."
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> shed 7.6 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 <DJc1> fell 82
points while Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures fell 7.25 points.
                                
 A weekly government report showing an unexpected fall in
new claims for unemployment benefits helped futures cut some of
their losses but the retail gloom offset the boost from that.
                                
 Limited Brands <LTD.N> was another disappointment. The
parent of lingerie chain Victoria's Secret posted an
unexpectedly big 10 percent slide in December sales at stores
open at least 12 months and forecast fourth-quarter profit
below analysts' estimates.
                                
 On the economic front, investors await President-elect
Barack Obama's speech on the economy at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT).
                                
 With Thursday marking the market's 5th session of the new
year, a down day would fuel anxiety about its ability to push
ahead with a recovery from its Nov. 21 bear market low.
                                
 According to the Stock Trader's Almanac January's first
five days act as an "early warning" on the year's prospects.
                                
 Disappointing outlooks from Alcoa Inc <AA.N> and Intel Corp
<INTC.O> and signs of mounting job losses on Wednesday sent
U.S. stocks to their worst tumble in more than a month and the
Dow industrial average <.DJI> erased its gain for the year.
                                
 The benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> has risen 20 percent since its
Nov. 21 low.
 (Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by James
Dalgleish)