* S&P 500 index futures below fair value
* Price of oil rises above $115 per barrel
* Existing home sales data for July on tap
By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
slipped on Monday, with Wall Street set to give back some of
Friday's sharp gains, as the price of oil rebounded and credit
concerns nagged.
Worry about the impact of higher fuel costs on consumer
spending and profits flared up again as the price of oil rose.
Shares of retailers such as Wal-Mart <WMT.N> and airlines,
including Continental Airlines <CAL.N>, fell before the bell.
Lehman Brothers <LEH.N> shares fell 4.2 percent before the
open after a top South Korean regulator voiced concern about
state-run Korea Development Bank's interest in buying a global
bank. For details, see [].
Shares of Lehman Brothers, which has been hard hit by the
credit crisis, had soared on Friday after KDB said it was open
to the acquisition of an overseas financial institution, naming
Lehman as one option.
Any news on when and whether the U.S. Treasury will take
steps to rescue mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and
Freddie Mac <FRE.N> could determine market direction, analysts
said.
Further fueling concerns about more fallout from the credit
crisis, bank regulators closed Columbian Bank and Trust Company
late on Friday, the ninth U.S. bank to fail this year as the
weakening economy and falling home prices take their toll on
financial institutions. [].
"Everything is hinging on the commodity prices and
financials-- we are still stuck in this up and down pattern.
Maybe once we get some of the smoke surrounding Fannie and
Freddie clearing, that might help people make a bit of a better
bet," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading
in Chatham, New Jersey.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 7.50 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 61 points
and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures slipped 11.50 points.
Existing home sales data for July are due at 10 a.m. (1400
GMT) and will be scrutinized for clues on the state of the
housing market, Saluzzi said.
"No matter how you cut it, this whole problem is centered
around housing. We really need to see inventory being worked
off and some money coming into the market," he said.
Fannie Mae's shares fell more than 5 percent and Freddie
Mac's shares fell more than 3 percent before the bell.
Among financial shares, insurer American International
Group Inc <AIG.N> fell 3 percent and Bank of America Corp
<BAC.N> lost 1.2 percent.
Adding to concerns about the global economy, the
International Monetary Fund trimmed its forecasts for 2008 and
2009 world economic growth in a note prepared for a meeting of
the Group of 20 nations, a G20 finance official told Reuters.
Oil rose 85 cents to $115.44 as some investors saw buying
opportunities after prices posted the biggest one-day slide in
percentage terms since 2004 in the previous session.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
