Wall Street set for lower open on China clampdown worry

By Tanya Agrawal

REUTERS - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Friday on investor concerns over reports of a regulatory clampdown on trading in China, a move that potentially would be negative for a recently flow of money into Chinese exchanges.

China has allowed fund managers to lend stocks for short-selling, in order to increase the supply of shares.

China H-Share index futures were down more than 4.24 percent at 1247 GMT. Global equities also lost ground on fears over the clampdown in China.

"There restrictions on short selling have been lifted in China and when one market sneezes, the rest of them usually react," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

U.S. data released Friday showed that the Consumer Price Index increased 0.2 percent last month after a similar gain in February, pointing to signs of some inflation that should keep the Federal Reserve on course to start raising interest rates this year.

The University of Michigan survey on consumer confidence is expected at 10:00 a.m. (1400 GMT).

The U.S. quarterly earnings season has been mixed so far with companies beating lowered expectations, but some disappointing results Thursday after the markets closed and early on Friday have raised concerns.

Shares of General Electric were down 0.6 percent at $27.46 after the company's revenue fell, hurt by the strong dollar. Results were also weighed by $16 billion in charges tied to its divestment of GE Capital assets.

Honeywell International shares were up 0.3 percent at $104.11 in premarket trading after the manufacturer of aircraft climate control systems blamed a strong dollar for a 5 percent fall in revenue.

American Express, the world's largest credit card issuer, reported quarterly revenue that fell short of analysts' estimates, hurt by a stronger dollar and the loss of several co-branded tie-ups.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices were down 12 percent at $2.53 before the bell after the chipmaker posted a bigger loss and said it expected weak demand for personal computers to continue for some time.

"Eventually people have to say, "Ok, forget about the Fed and central bankers nonsense and focus on the fundamentals," because if the large-caps are coming in with lower-than-expected earnings, then you know that other smaller companies will be in trouble," said Saluzzi.

Britain postponed a sale of Treasury bills and global bond trading was hit by a power outage Friday at business and market news provider Bloomberg, which competes with Thomson Reuters.

Futures snapshot at 9:06 a.m. (1306 GMT):

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 14.25 points, or 0.68 percent, with 27,7647 contracts changing hands.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 38 points, or 0.86 percent, with 44,623 contracts changing hands.

* Dow e-minis were down 156 points, or 0.86 percent, with 44,725 contracts changing hands.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)