US STOCKS-Wall St set for lower open on earnings woes

                                
 * Worry over earnings season dampens sentiment
                                
 * Mattel results miss expectations, stock down premarket
                                
 * S&P 500 futures off 13.30 points, Dow futures off 108
points, Nasdaq 100 futures off 15.25 points
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Adds details)
                                
 By Leah Schnurr
                                
 NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street was poised for a
lower open on Monday as investors fretted about a disappointing
earnings season and the prospects of more weakness to come
after Wall Street racked up its worst January ever.
                                
 U.S. President Barack Obama is meeting with Democratic
Congressional leaders in an effort to have his nearly $900
billion stimulus plan pass through Congress by mid-February.
                                
 The plan faces opposition from top Republicans in Congress,
however, who say their party is unlikely to back the bill
without changes. For details see [ID:nN01420749].
                                
 "It appears ... there's not a lot of optimism to be found
after having the worst January on record," said Andre Bakhos,
president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New
Jersey, adding: "... There's a fear that things are going to
get worse before they get better."
                                
 Among the morning's batch of quarterly results, top toy
company Mattel Inc <MAT.N> reported a disappointing profit,
stung by a weak holiday season and a stronger dollar.
[ID:nN02372846]. Mattel tumbled 16.8 percent to $11.80 before
the opening bell.
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 13.30 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> lost 108
points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures were down 15.25 points.
                                
 Stocks fell on Friday after data showed the economy shrank
in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in nearly 27 years.
                                
 Both the Dow <.DJI> and the benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX>
suffered their worst January ever, with the Dow down 8.8
percent and the S&P off 8.6 percent. The slide further hurt
already depressed sentiment as January traditionally sets the
tone for stocks' performance for the rest of the year.
                                
 Questions over the fate of the ailing banking sector
remained after a report last week that U.S. policy-makers have
yet to reach consensus on how a government-run "bad bank" to
mop up toxic assets would work and the idea may not move
forward. Shares of Bank of America <BAC.N> fell 2.1 percent to
$6.44 in premarket trading.
                                
 In an interview with NBC, Obama said he has asked Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner to formulate guidelines for
financial firms. [ID:nN02437430].
                                
 Financials could also come under pressure after Moody's cut
its long-term ratings on Britain's Barclays Bank <BARC.L>
<BCS.N> on expectations of "significant" further losses.
[ID:nPEK231315].
                                
 Energy shares could be hurt as the price of oil <CLc1> fell
below $41 a barrel on falling demand due to the deteriorating
U.S. economy. Oil has seen a steep decline since hitting a
record over $147 in July last year. Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> was off
1 percent to $75.75.
                                
 Investors are girding for U.S. employment data on Friday.
Indicators on tap for Monday include U.S. manufacturing data.
 (Editing by James Dalgleish)