Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday ahead of U.S. CPI figures and results from J.C. Penny and Lowe's Companies.

* At 5 a.m. EST, futures for the S&P 500 were down 1.6 percent, Dow Jones futures were down 1.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 were down 1.4 percent.

* J.C. Penny releases Q4 results and analysts expect the company to earn 92 cents a share, excluding items, down from $1.93 a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.

* Lowe's Companies is expected to post lower Q4 results, as rising unemployment and lower home values pressured business. Analysts expect the company to earn 12 cents a share, excluding items, down from 28 cents a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.

* At 8:30 a.m. EST, the Labor Department releases the January Consumer Price Index (CPI). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a median 0.5 percent drop compared with a 0.8 percent fall in December.

* The Obama administration hopes to encourage new lending by effectively subsidizing the profits of hedge funds and private equity firms that serve as bankers to the banks, reported the New York Times.

* Citigroup , taking another step to shrink its sprawling empire, plans to sell a large chunk of its minority stake in Brazilian credit-card company Redecard SA , according to people familiar with the matter, reported the Wall Street Journal.

* Cabela's jumped 10 percent to $6.56 in extended trade on Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that were above Wall Street estimates and said 2009 earnings are expected to be about equal with its year-ago results.

* On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> lost 1.19 percent, to close at 7,465.95, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gave up 1.20 percent, to close at 778.94 and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 1.71 percent to close at 1,442.82.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)

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