US STOCKS-Opening bounce eyed on bargain search, Citi

                                
 * Futures point to bounce at open after 2-day slide
                                
 * Citigroup mulling sales - source; stock up premarket
                                
 * Wal-Mart says CEO Scott to retire, names successor
                                
 * Higher oil price likely to boost energy shares
                                
 * Worries about autos, deepening economic slump linger
  (Recasts first paragraph, updates prices)
                                
 By Ellis Mnyandu
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks headed for a
higher open on Friday as investors followed up two days of
steep losses that toppled Wall Street to an 11-year low by
scooping up shares of banks and other beaten-down sectors.
                                
 Embattled Citigroup <C.N> was mulling selling pieces of the
No. 2 U.S. bank or the entire company outright, a person
familiar with the matter said, sparking short-covering among
bank stocks. On Thursday Citigroup shares plunged to their
lowest in about 1 1/2 decades amid fears about its future.
                                
 Citigroup's board of directors is scheduled to meet on
Friday to discuss options, the Wall Street Journal reported.
For details, see [ID:nN20470744]
                                
 Citigroup shares rose almost 8 percent at $5.07 before the
bell, while the Financial Select Sector exchange-traded fund,
which tracks S&P 500 financials <XLF>, climbed 3.8 percent.
                                
 "The last two days the reason I have not considered buying
stocks is strictly due to Citigroup," said Matt McCall,
president of Penn Financial Group in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
"The market is very oversold and due for a short-term rally. So
what you're likely to see is more short-covering."
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> were 20.9 points higher and were
above 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>
climbed 203 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures gained 18.50
points.
                                
 U.S. crude oil futures rose above $50 a barrel on Friday,
underpinning shares of energy companies, including Chevron
<CVX.N>, up 2.7 percent to $66.15 before the bell.
                                
 Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> rose 1.2 percent to
$51.25 before the bell after the world's largest retailer said
Lee Scott was retiring as chief executive and named Mike Duke,
who heads Wal-Mart's international operations, as successor.
[ID:nN21465040]
                                
 But even with the likely bounce, Goldman Sachs said it now
forecast real GDP dropping at a 5 percent annual rate in the
current quarter and sees the unemployment rate reaching 9
percent by the fourth quarter 2009. The rate was 6.5 percent in
October.
                                
  Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker
said on Friday it is reasonable to expect the U.S. economy to
reverse a downward track some time in 2009.
                                
 Investors were cautious as concerns about the failure of
U.S. automakers, including General Motors Corp <GM.N>, to
secure an immediate government bailout to avert possible
bankruptcy linger.
                                
 A bright spot emerged when Dell Inc <DELL.O>, the world's
No. 2 PC maker reported stronger-than-expected profit.
[ID:nN20401261].
                                
 The benchmark S&P 500 is now more than 52 percent below its
October 2007 record high, making the current bear market the
second biggest on record. The current decline is exceeded only
by the 83 percent drop between 1930 and 1932, according to the
Stock Trader's Almanac.
 (Editing by Kenneth Barry)