U.S. Stock-Index Futures Decline; Bear Stearns Drops in Europe

U.S. stock-index futures tumbled after Citigroup Inc., the country's largest bank, said it may write down an additional $11 billion, rekindling concern that subprime- mortgages losses will grow.

``This adds a new doubt,'' said Salah Seddik, a fund manager at Richelieu Finance in Paris, which oversees $5 billion. ``Losses could be more than expected and the return to normal is taking longer than we thought. Uncertainty is weighing on financial shares.''

Bear Stearns Cos. declined after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. downgraded its recommendation the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-largest U.S. bank, and American Express Co. fell in Europe. Citigroup advanced after saying Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince is stepping down.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December sank 12.8 to 1,504.8 as of 8:51 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreated 101 to 13,541 and Nasdaq 100 Index futures decreased 17 to 2,206.5.

Energy and computer companies rallied on Nov. 2 after a better-than-expected jobs report signaled the economy may avoid a recession. Merrill Lynch & Co. led financial shares to their steepest two-day loss since 2002.

Citigroup said yesterday that Prince is stepping down after subprime mortgages and related securities lost as much as $11 billion of their value in the past month, on top of more than $6 billion of charges reported for the third quarter, a decline that may wipe out half of the bank's profit so far this year.
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