Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell in advance of a Conference Board report that may show consumer confidence slipped in February. Futures extended declines as oil climbed above $49 a barrel in New York. Citigroup Inc. and General Electric Co. shares slipped in Europe.

``If oil prices go up, it's bad for everyone except oil companies,'' said Philippe Gijsels, chief strategist at Fortis's private investment unit in Brussels, which has $62 billion in assets. ``This is not the time to buy U.S. stocks. There are questions about the strength of U.S. economic growth.'' Gijsels said he favors energy companies, without naming any.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March declined 5.9 to 1196.4 as of 11:48 a.m. in London. Dow average futures lost 53 to 10,744 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures slid 13 to 1504. Seventeen of the 27 Dow average stocks trading in Europe fell. U.S. exchanges were closed yesterday for the President's Day holiday.

Home Depot Inc. shares rose in Germany. The world's largest home-improvement retailer posted a 9.5 percent gain in quarterly profit. It is one of seven S&P 500 companies scheduled to report earnings today.

U.S. consumer confidence probably declined in February, hovering below a six-month high, economists said before today's private report. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan last week said consumer spending may slip as interest rates rise.

Consumer Confidence

The Conference Board's index is forecast to fall to 103 from 103.4, according to the median forecast of 50 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. January's reading was the highest since 105.7 in July. The New York-based research group's report is scheduled for 10 a.m. Washington time.

Citigroup, the world's biggest bank, declined 16 cents to $48.41 in Germany. General Electric, the world's second-largest company by market value, fell 6 cents to $35.82 in France.

Crude oil for March delivery rose 96 cents, or 2 percent, to $49.31 a barrel, the highest in almost four weeks, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil climbed amid unusually cold weather in Northwest Europe and the U.S. Northeast, the largest markets for heating fuels.

The Labor Department tomorrow will probably say consumer prices in January rose 0.2 percent overall from the previous month, according to the median estimate of 56 economists in Bloomberg surveys.

The annualized increase in the core index was likely 2.3 percent, the most since August 2002, surveys showed. Overall consumer prices were unchanged in December. The Fed has raised its target interest rate six times since June 30, intending to prevent the U.S. economy from overheating.

Qwest's MCI Bid

Shares of MCI Inc., the second-largest U.S. long-distance telephone company, may rise on expectations Qwest Communications International Inc. will sweeten its $8 billion takeover offer for the company as soon as this week.

Qwest executives are considering announcing new terms of its cash and stock offer as early as Wednesday, said a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported a new offer may come this week. Tyler Gronbach, a spokesman for Qwest, declined to comment. MCI shares didn't trade in Europe. Qwest lost 4 cents to $3.91 in Germany.

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. shares fell 25 cents to $1.23 in Germany. The operator of about 920 supermarkets in the southern U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Wachovia Bank NA has agreed to provide an $800 million debtor-in-possession loan to supplement cash flow during the reorganization process, allowing Winn-Dixie to keep its stores open, the retailer said.

Home Depot, Autodesk

Home Depot climbed 30 cents to $42.32. The retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings rose 9.5 percent to 47 cents a share as demand from contractors and holiday sales increased. The company reiterated its 2005 sales growth forecast.

AutoDesk Inc. advanced 8 cent to $28.99 in Germany. The maker of software to design buildings and for movie visual effects is expected to report fourth-quarter profit of 28 cents a share, up from 23 cents a year earlier, before some gains and losses, according to estimates from Thomson Financial. The earnings report is due after the close.

Shares of Novell Inc. rose 5 cents to $6.06, also in Germany. The seller of network-software and consulting services is expected to report first-quarter profit excluding some gains and losses fell 33.3 percent to 2 cents a share, based on Thomson Financial estimates. The report is scheduled for after U.S. markets close.

AT&T, Starbucks

AT&T Corp. fell 8 cents to $19.33 in Germany. The largest U.S. long-distance phone company may be forced to pay as much as $500 million in fees on prepaid telephone calling cards after U.S. regulators rejected the company's arguments that it should be exempt, people familiar with the matter said.

Starbucks Corp. lost 12 cents to $49.81 in Germany. The largest U.S. coffee-shop chain restated net income, lowering it by a total of $12.6 million over more than three years because of accounting issues related to its leases.

Amgen Inc. dropped 96 cents to $61.04 in Germany. The world's biggest biotechnology company must stop running a television advertisement for its Enbrel treatment for the skin disease psoriasis, U.S. regulators said Feb. 18.

Kerr-McGee Corp. rose $2.17 to $72.67, also in Germany. The oil company said in a statement that investor Carl Icahn and an Icahn-related partnership notified the company that they may buy as much as $1 billion of Kerr-McGee stock.

Sina Corp. rose $1.70 to $27.30 in Germany. Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd., China's biggest provider of Internet games, said in a regulatory filing that it owns 19.5 percent stake and may seek talks with the operator of Chinese language Web sites about a possible merger.

Dollar's Decline

The dollar fell the most in more than a week against the euro and dropped versus the yen and Korean won on a report South Korea's central bank will diversify its currency reserves.

``The dollar is likely to fall further, which means lower returns for European investors,'' said Gijsels.

The dollar fell against the euro to $1.3214 from $1.3068 late yesterday in Toronto, according to EBS, an electronic foreign-exchange dealing system.

The Korean central bank, which has $200 billion in reserves, will ``diversify the currencies in which it invests,'' Reuters said yesterday, citing a Bank of Korea spokesman in a parliamentary report. Byun Jai Yung, head of the bank's planning department, said in a telephone interview that he can't comment.

Asian stocks fell, led by exporters such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., on concern that the value of their overseas sales may be eroded after the dollar dropped against regional currencies. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.5 percent to 11,597.71, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.1 percent and Singapore's Strait Times Index sank 0.9 percent.

The Dow average rose 0.3 percent on Feb. 18 to 10,785.22. The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to 1201.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.1 percent, to 2058.62.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margo Towie in Brussels at mtowie@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 22, 2005 06:58 EST