CITIGROUP

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday as cautious investors awaited another round of earnings results and comments from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

U.S. banks will be briefed by regulators as early as Friday on how they performed in government stress tests, before the results are made public later, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing government officials.

Dow Jones futures were down 0.5 percent at 0920 GMT, S&P 500 futures off 0.7 percent and Nasdaq futures off 0.5 percent, suggesting a softer start for U.S. stocks on Wednesday.

Stocks in Japan and South Korea rose on Wednesday but most Asian markets slipped as caution spread, pushing up the U.S. dollar and yen, before official results of U.S. bank stress tests are released on May 4.

Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday supported by the top U.S. Treasury official saying most banks have adequate capital, but caution was likely to reign until official results of stress tests were released on May 4.

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit pledged to repay every dollar the third-largest U.S. bank owes to the government, which has pumped $45 billion of capital into the bank.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner indicated most banks have sufficient reserves to protect against possible losses, sparking a rebound in bank shares.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Northern Trust Corp , two large U.S. custodial banks, reported disappointing profit as declines in client assets depressed fees, while State Street Corp topped forecasts.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the vast majority of banks are well capitalized, soothing worries over the need for the struggling sector to raise more money.

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said he expects the No. 3 U.S. bank to rebound from its current woes and pledged that it would repay every dollar it owes to the U.S. government.

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said he expects the No. 3 U.S. bank to rebound from its current woes and pledged that it would repay ever dollar it owes to the U.S. government.

Chemical maker DuPont posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, but trimmed its full-year outlook and said it would cut more jobs as weak economic conditions continued to constrict demand.

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said he expects the No. 3 U.S. bank to rebound from its current woes and pledged that it would repay every dollar it owes to the U.S. government. Pandit commented on the bank's prospects on Tuesday at the annual shareholders' meeting.

On Tuesday the Treasury Department said $109.6 billion are reaming in the in resources remain in the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund.

Two of the biggest U.S. custodial banks, Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Northern Trust Corp , reported disappointing earnings as declines in client assets depressed fees, sending their shares sharply lower.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he would consider the health of the financial system and the flow of credit in deciding whether banks can repay bailout funds from the government, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

A surge of troubled loans overshadowed better-than-expected earnings at Bank of America Corp, and the largest U.S. bank said it expects the credit situation to worsen, driving its shares down 24.3 percent.

Stocks slid on Monday on concerns over the sustainability of recent better-than-expected results from banks after Bank of America Corp reported a big increase in troubled loans.

Stocks slid on Monday on concerns over the sustainability of recent better-than-expected results from banks after Bank of America Corp reported a big increase in troubled loans. Wall Street's tumble follows a six-week winning streak, the longest for the S&P 500 since 2007, with the Dow scoring its biggest gain over the period since 1938.

The U.S. Treasury said on Monday there was no basis for a report that said its stress tests on the health of the nation's 19 top banks showed several were technically insolvent.

A surge in troubled loans overshadowed better-than-expected earnings at Bank of America Corp, and the largest U.S. bank expects the credit situation to worsen, driving its shares down 17 percent.