PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed

to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with

futures for the S&P 500 down 0.11 percent, Dow Jones

futures down 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures

down 0.17 percent at 0918 GMT.

* European stocks slipped from recent multi-year highs in

morning trade, as investors turned cautious ahead of Italy's

first long-term debt auction since last week's credit downgrade

and ahead of euro zone industrial production data.

* Tokyo's Nikkei share average slipped for a second session,

ending the session down 0.6 percent, as a firmer yen prompted

investors to cash in recent strong profits in exporters

following an eight-session market rally.

* Boeing Co will be in the spotlight after the

aircraft maker won approval from U.S. transport regulators on

Tuesday to start testing a redesigned battery for the 787

Dreamliner, putting it one step closer to getting the troubled

airplane back into regular service.

* Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc

, is considering a bid for collapsed music retailer HMV,

the Telegraph reported.

* Investors await February retail sales, due at 1230 GMT,

expected to rise 0.5 percent compared with a 0.1 percent

increase in January, according to Reuters polling. Excluding

automobiles, sales are expected to rise 0.5 percent versus a 0.2

percent rise in January.

* Business inventories data for January is also due at 1400

GMT, seen rising 0.4 percent versus 0.1 percent in the prior

month.

* The S&P 500 ended lower on Tuesday, breaking a

seven-session string of gains as investors pulled back from

technology and financials, but the Dow eked out the smallest of

gains to finish at another all-time closing high.

* The Dow Jones industrial average rose just 2.77

points, or 0.02 percent, to 14,450.06, another record close.

Earlier, the Dow climbed to a lifetime intraday high of

14,478.80.

* The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 3.74 points,

or 0.24 percent, to finish at 1,552.48 - about 13 points below

its record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite Index

slipped 10.55 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 3,242.32.

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