* Futures slightly higher in thin holiday trade
* Toyota warning weighs on Europe, Asia
* Walgreen reports earnings below forecast
* For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on
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(Updates prices, adds Roper, Sysco, AIG)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures edged
higher on Monday in what is expected to be a light trading week
ahead of Thursday's Christmas holiday as investors look ahead
to corporate earnings and details on retail sales.
One of the country's largest drug store chains, Walgreen
Co, posted earnings below forecasts and oil prices stabilized
on Monday, which could ease fears of weakening global demand.
"With the auto-package having been cleared and Christmas
around the corner the next point of focus investors will be
gearing up for a potentially interesting earnings season," said
Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in
Princeton, New Jersey.
"Too low an oil price is on investors' minds. The question
is: What is the next focal point? It will turn on the consumer
Christmas sales."
Oil <CLc1> rose 0.8 percent to $42.70 on the new contract
after settling at $33.87 on Friday, its lowest level since Feb.
10, 2004.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 2.3 points and were slightly
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>
added 17 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> gained 7 points, and
were near flat in terms of fair value.
Walgreen <WAG.N> reported first-quarter earnings that were
below analysts' expectations and said that comparable store
sales rose 1.6 percent in the period. For details, see
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Walgreen's shares slumped 5.6 percent to $24.61 in
premarket trade.
Shares of American International Group <AIG.N> rose 6.3
percent to $1.70 after the company agreed to sell its HSB Group
to German reinsurer Munich Re <MUVGn.DE> for $742 million.
Underscoring the weak economic climate, engineering firm
Roper Industries <ROP.N> lowered its fourth-quarter outlook to
73 to 76 cents a share, citing lower demand in two units and
unfavorable moves in foreign exchange. Sysco <SYY.N> said that
it sees flat to slightly negative year-over-year sales
comparison for the food maker's second quarter.
Sysco shares slumped 4.2 percent to $23.07 in premarket
trade.
Stocks in Europe and Asia were lower after weak export data
in Japan confirmed fears about the weak global economy.
Toyota Motor Co <7203.T><TM.N>, the world's biggest
automaker, forecast its first group operating loss due to a
relentless global slide in car sales and a crippling rise in
the yen, which undermined shares of automakers.[].
U.S traded shares of Toyota were down 1.4 percent to $63.50
in premarket trade. General Motors <GM.N> slid 6 percent to
$4.22 while Ford <F.N> shed 1 percent to $2.92.
With just seven trading days remaining in the year, there
is little hope for the markets to avoid having their worst
yearly performance since the 1930s. The S&P 500 is down 39.5
percent for the year.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Friday after the U.S.
government said it would throw a $17.4 billion lifeline to
automakers grappling with falling consumer demand.
The Dow ended lower, pulled down by another fall in energy
shares, including Chevron <CVX.N> and Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> as
oil sank for the sixth day in a row on fears the anemic economy
will swamp demand.
There is no major U.S. economic data due to be released on
Monday.
(Editing by Tom Hals)
