US STOCKS-Wall St set to slump after gloomy economic data, bank earnings

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* NY Fed Empire State manufacturing index slumps to record
low
* BofA, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs fall as profit slumps
* J.C. Penney sinks on report it is considering bankruptcy
* Record drop in March retails sales
* Futures tumble: Dow 2.58%, S&P 2.96%, Nasdaq 2.07%

(Adds quote, details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh
April 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
slide at the open on Wednesday, as a record drop in retail sales
and dour first-quarter earnings reports lent credence to
forecasts for the biggest economic slump since the 1930s.
U.S. retail sales plunged 8.7% in March, setting up consumer
spending for its worst decline in decades, while a separate
survey showed manufacturing activity in New York state plunged
in April to its lowest in the series' history. Bank of America BAC.N , Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N and
Citigroup Inc C.N fell between 3.8% and 4.1% before the bell
as they joined JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Wells Fargo & Co
WFC.N in setting aside billions to cover potential loan losses
tied to the coronavirus pandemic. "Investors need a strong stomach to stick with stocks
through some bad earnings reports in the coming days, weeks and
months," said David Trainer, chief executive officer of
investment research firm New Constructs in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Earnings and coronavirus are tightly intertwined and the
more progress there is on coronavirus, the sooner economic
activity resumes and earnings rebound."
Analysts expect earnings for S&P 500 firms to slide 12.3% in
the first quarter, while the International Monetary Fund has
predicted the global economy would shrink 3% in 2020, its
sharpest downturn since the Great Depression. The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX has climbed about 30% from its
March trough, lifted by a raft of U.S. monetary and fiscal
stimulus and on early signs that coronavirus cases were peaking
in some hotspots, but the index is still down about 16% from its
record high.
The index jumped 3% on Tuesday on hopes the Trump
administration could move to ease lockdowns. However, hotspot
New York later sharply raised its official virus death toll to
more than 10,000. "Overall it feels like we're pricing in closer to a
'V-shaped' recovery at the moment, but it's clearly difficult to
disentangle the impact that the extraordinary support from the
authorities is having," said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche
Bank.
J.C. Penney Co Inc JCP.N slumped 15.7% as sources said the
retailer was exploring filing for bankruptcy protection after
the virus outbreak upended its turnaround plans. UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N , the biggest U.S. health
insurer, reported a fall in quarterly profit, but its shares
rose 1% in premarket trading as it maintained its 2020 profit
outlook at a time when major companies have withdrawn forecasts
due to the coronavirus pandemic. Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N
slipped more than 3% as oil prices tumbled after reports
suggested persistent oversupply and collapsing global demand.
O/R
At 9:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 617 points,
or 2.58%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 84.25 points, or
2.96% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 180.25 points, or
2.07%.
In a bright spot, carriers American Airlines Group Inc
AAL.O and United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O jumped between
5.7% and 4.5% as the U.S. Treasury Department said major
passenger airlines had agreed in principle to a $25 billion
rescue package.