Wall Street to open flat as Fed meeting eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were set for a flat open on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve was set to begin a two-day policy meeting at which the central bank is widely expected to unveil new measures to stimulate the economy.

Equities in the United States and Europe have rallied recently, with U.S. stocks mostly flat on Monday as investors paused following the best two-day run this year, on increased expectations both the Fed and the European Central Bank will plan further actions to stimulate their respective economies at meetings this week.

Last week, ECB President Mario Draghi said the ECB was ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro, fueling expectation the bank could revive its bond purchase program to help lower the borrowing costs of debt-stricken Spain and Italy.

"This move higher that we've seen is directly tied to the markets' expectations there would be further Fed easing and Draghi will be in very much lockstep coordination with the Fed in terms of trying to ease our way out of this predicament," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"Draghi lit the fuse but the ball is now in Chairman Bernanke's court."

S&P 500 futures fell 1.3 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 16 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 9.25 points.

Government data showed consumer spending fell in June for the first time in nearly a year when accounting for inflation, while household income rose 0.5 percent.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.9 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping economists' expectations for a 0.5 percent gain and suggested the recovery in the housing market continues to gain its footing.

Data expected later in the session includes U.S. consumer confidence numbers for July, at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect the 20-city adjusted home price index to rise 0.5 percent while consumer confidence is expected to show a reading of 61.5 versus 62 in June.

Earnings season continues to roll along, with quarterly results scheduled from companies including Electronic Arts and FMC Corp .

Pfizer Inc shares climbed 1 percent to $23.95 in premarket trade after the largest U.S. drugmaker reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and affirmed its 2012 profit forecast.

Coach Inc slumped 14.7 percent to $52.68 in premarket after the upscale leather goods maker reported lower- than-expected fourth-quarter sales.

Anheuser-Busch InBev , the world's largest brewer, fell short of second-quarter earnings expectations, selling less beer and spending more on distribution and marketing new U.S. brands. U.S.-listed shares fell 2.7 percent to $78.90 in premarket trade.

Aetna Inc posted weaker quarterly earnings as expenses rose, but the results were still higher than analysts had expected.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Monday morning, of the 294 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for Q2 2012, 67 percent have reported earnings above analyst expectations. The average over the past four quarters is 68 percent.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, editing by Dave Zimmerman)