US STOCKS-Economic fears, Citi to weigh on Wall St

                                
 * World markets tumble on signs of deepening recession
                                
 * Obama's push for remaining bailout funds is in focus
                                
 * Outlook worries drag Citigroup lower before the bell
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Recasts first paragraph, updates prices)
                                
 By Ellis Mnyandu
                                
 NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to slip
on Tuesday as mounting fallout from the worldwide economic
slump fueled a global sell-off in equities and investors
worried about the outlook for Citigroup <C.N>.
                                
 Hopes Washington would work speedily on a plea by U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama for remaining financial rescue
funds to stabilize credit markets provided some support.
                                
 Additionally, investors drew comfort from comments by
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the government could
consider buying troubled assets.
                                
 That step had been originally envisaged for the $700
billion financial bailout last year so that banks could be
relieved of bad mortgage debts.
                                
 "Bernanke talking about buying toxic assets, which is what
the (financial bailout) was initially intended for, is maybe
giving some hopes, but banks remain under some pressure," said
Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New
York. "Crude has also gone back to flat, which also helps."
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> shed 4.10 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>
declined 26 points while Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures slipped 4.50
points.
                                
 A day after Alcoa Inc <AA.N> kicked off what investors fear
will be a bleak fourth-quarter earnings reporting season, Wall
Street looked set to put a further dent in gains recorded since
the market's Nov. 21 bear market low.
                                
 Stocks likely to weigh on the market include Citigroup as
investors fret about the possibility of more credit losses and
uncertainty over the outlook as the embattled bank pushes to
sell a controlling stake in its Smith Barney retail brokerage
unit, a crown jewel.
                                
 Shares of Citigroup, a Dow component, fell more than 5
percent to $5.22 before the bell.
                                
 Obama, who is due to be sworn in on Jan. 20, is pushing for
Congress to release the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion financial industry bailout.
                                
 Obama wants the aid to go to consumers threatened by home
mortgage foreclosures and plans to meet on Tuesday with Senate
Democrats to seek backing for his request for the funds.
 (Editing by James Dalgleish)