US STOCKS-Futures down on Chinese CPI, ahead of jobless data

                                
   * Chinese consumer inflation hits 16-month high
                                
 * Jobless claims, international trade data on tap
                                
 * BP to buy Devon Energy fields for $7 bln
                                
 * Futures down: Dow 14 pts, S&P 2.2 pts, Nasdaq 3.5 pts
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates prices, adds quote and details on Chinese CPI)
                                
 By Ryan Vlastelica
                                
 NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
were lower on Thursday ahead of a report on weekly jobless
claims and after data showed a jump in Chinese inflation.
                                
 The Labor Department releases the jobless claims data at
8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey
forecast a total of 460,000 new filings, compared with 469,000
in the prior week. For details, see [ECI/US]
                                
 "After Friday's jobs report, there are increased stakes for
labor market data to be increasingly positive," said Andre
Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in North
Brunswick, New Jersey.
                                
 "There's some apprehension to commit before the number,
because if it comes in weaker than expected it will cause a lot
of nervousness."
                                
 Investors also fretted about the prospects of monetary
tightening in top consumer China, where consumer inflation rose
to a 16-month high in February. [ID:nTOE6290B5]
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 2.2 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 14
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> lost 3.5 points.
                                
 BP Plc <BP.N><BP.L> has agreed to buy Brazilian, Azeri and
Gulf of Mexico fields from Devon Energy Corp <DVN.N> for $7
billion. Devon shares up 2.3 percent to $73.35 in premarket
trading. [ID:nLDE62A0CN]
                                
 Pall Corp <PLL.N> and National Semiconductor Corp <NSM.N>
are due to report quarterly results. The Commerce Department
will also release January international trade figures, with
economists expecting a $41.0 billion deficit, compared with a
$40.18 billion deficit in December.
                                
 Citigroup Inc <C.N> Chief Executive Vikram Pandit, at a
conference on Thursday, is set to forecast returns of 1.25
percent a year or more on the bank's main assets within a few
years, the Financial Times reported. [ID:nN10163882]
                                
 U.S. regulators are stepping up an investigation into
Google Inc's <GOOG.O> plans to buy mobile advertising company
AdMob, suggesting the government may challenge the $750 million
deal, Bloomberg reported. [ID:nN10174072]
                                
 Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> will put its Bing search and
mapping services on Motorola Inc <MOT.N> phones that use
Google's Android operating system under a new deal.
[ID:nN10180308]
                                
 Overseas, European shares were little changed, though bank
stocks were lower on the Chinese inflation data.
                                
 Bank and technology shares lifted Wall Street on Wednesday
on hopes that a revival in business demand will boost corporate
profits.
  (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)