Futures point to rebound on Costco, Wal-Mart

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks looked set to rebound on Thursday as Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) were among retail chains posting higher-than-expected monthly sales figures.

Shares of Costco and Wal-Mart both rose 1.2 percent in trading before the bell after they reported April sales gains from stores open at least a year that beat analysts' forecasts.

Stocks had their worst slide in nearly a month on Wednesday after oil jumped to a record above $123 a barrel, sparking inflation fears. Banks, home builders and retailers were among the worst-performing sectors.

Crude was down 17 cents at $123.36 a barrel on Thursday as the dollar's gain against the euro trimmed demand.

"Costco's numbers were good and the market's expecting to see some more decent numbers because you've got the rebate checks just starting to hit the system," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont. "There's hope you'll see an early impact from the stimulus."

S&P 500 futures were up 5.5 points, above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 32 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.75 points.

Congress passed and President Bush signed into law a $150 billion economic stimulus package, and federal checks will be en route to Americans soon in an effort to spur the ailing economy.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose to $57.50 before the open.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSa.N) said late on Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter profit tripled, sending its shares up 1.6 percent to $18.72 in after-hours trading.

Shares of Crocs Inc (CROX.O) are set to gain after the maker of chunky plastic shoes affirmed its second-quarter and 2008 outlook. Crocs shares jumped 15 percent to $11.50 in extended-hours trading.

In M&A developments, Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) chief research and strategy officer said on Thursday the company had no plans to make another approach for Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) after it pulled the plug on its $47.5 billion bid earlier this month.

No. 1 electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY.N) will pay $2.1 billion for half of Britain's Carphone Warehouse (CPW.L) chain to enter the European consumer market.

The economic data agenda includes weekly initial jobless claims due at 8:30 a.m. EDT and March wholesale inventories at 10 a.m. EDT.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slid 206.48 points, or 1.59 percent, to 12,814.35 on Wednesday after oil topped $123 a barrel. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) fell 25.69 points, or 1.81 percent, to 1,392.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) lost 44.82 points, or 1.80 percent, to 2,438.49.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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