* Libyan violence pressures global markets
* Oil prices hit 2-1/2 yr high
* S&P/Case-Shiller, consumer confidence data on tap
* Futures off: S&P 15.7 pts, Dow 85 pts, Nasdaq 31 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
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By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
tumbled on Tuesday as a revolt in Libya drove investors away
from risky assets and prompted a spike in crude oil prices.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi used tanks, helicopters and
warplanes to quell a growing revolt as the veteran leader
scoffed at reports he was fleeing after four decades in power.
For details, see []
Crude oil futures <CLc1> hit a 2-1/2 year high on concerns
the Libyan violence could cut more of the OPEC member's output,
and that a similar story could play out in other top oil
producers in North Africa and the Middle East.
Global stock markets were pressured as investors feared
civil unrest in the Middle East and North Africa would keep oil
prices high, driving up inflation, cutting into corporate
profits and crimping economic growth.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 15.7 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> slid 85
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> tumbled 31 points.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, two Iranian naval ships
entered the Suez Canal, a canal official said, heading toward
the Mediterranean, a move certain to anger Israel.
[]
"These are cases of real concerns, real jitters. People are
avoiding stocks based on risk aversion and flocking to more
traditionally safe-haven investments such as bonds and gold,"
said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners
in New York.
In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index
of top shares fell 0.6 percent, extending the previous
session's losses on the Libyan worries.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> fell 1.5 percent to
$54.55 in premarket trade after the world's largest retailer
posted its seventh straight drop in key U.S. sales during the
chain's most important quarter. []
Home Depot Inc <HD.N>, the world's largest home improvement
chain, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit as
shoppers began long-delayed home projects in a slowly
recovering U.S. economy. Its shares rose 2.3 percent to $39.37
premarket. []
Hewlett-Packard Co <HPQ.N>, the world's largest technology
company by revenue, is seen reporting strong demand for
networking equipment, servers and storage when it reports
results later Tuesday, but relatively lackluster sales of
personal computers. []
Investors will also focus on the S&P/Case-Shiller December
report on house prices, due at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT). The data
is expected to show U.S. single-family home prices fell for a
sixth straight month in December, according to a Reuters survey
of economists.
U.S. consumer confidence data for February is set for 10
a.m. EST (1500 GMT). Economists look for a reading of 65.0,
compared with 65.6 previously, according to a Reuters survey.
BHP Billiton Plc <BLT.L> is buying Arkansas shale gas
reserves from Chesapeake Energy Corp <CHK.N> for $4.75 billion
in a big bet on the world's biggest gas market. Chesapeake
Energy shares rose 5.6 percent to $32.12. []
U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the U.S. Presidents
Day holiday, but on Friday stocks pushed higher for a third
week despite growing signals of an overheating market.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
