Stock futures slightly lower as crude oil retreats

[December 30, 2015]  By Abhiram Nandakumar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were marginally lower on Wednesday as crude oil gave up Tuesday's gains after forecasts suggested winter in Europe and the United States would be short-lived.

* Global stocks followed crude prices lower, as demand remains sluggish and supply continues unabated.

* Shares of Exxon and Chevron were down about 1 percent in premarket trading.

* U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday on a rally in tech stocks led by Apple and Amazon.

* The S&P 500 closed Tuesday in positive territory for the year, rising a modest 0.95 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 7.85 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average, however, was down 0.57 percent in 2015.
 

* The S&P 500 energy sector is down 22.68 percent for the year, easily the worst performer on the index, followed by an 8.72 percent decline in materials, caused by the rout in commodities.

* Trading volumes are expected to remain thin on the last trading days of the year.

* Data is expected to show a half percent rise in an index of pending home sales in November, after inching up 0.2 percent in October. The data by the National Association of Realtors is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT).

Futures snapshot at 7:14 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were down 41 points, or 0.23 percent, with 10,937 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 3.75 points, or 0.18 percent, with 54,660 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 4.75 points, or 0.1 percent, on volume of 10,209 contracts.

(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)

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