Wall Street set to fall on data and profit-taking

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Wednesday with investors set to consolidate recent gains as a gauge of regional manufacturing unexpectedly fell in September.

Markets have rallied through September to the top of the summer's trading range, with the S&P 500 logging a gain of more than 6 percent, making the markets ripe for profit-taking.

On the data front, the New York Federal Reserve Bank's "Empire State" index fell to its lowest level in more than a year. The report could be a setback after recent better-than-expected data has tempered worries about the economy.

"Bottom line, lackluster remains the adjective for describing our recovery," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co in New York. "Today is the first September industrial number out, and we need to see more to reach any definitive conclusions."

Separately, import prices rose faster than expected in August, recording their largest increase in four months.

S&P 500 futures fell 3.5 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 were off 36 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 4.75 point.

The U.S. dollar surged against the yen after Japan intervened to sell the yen for the first time in six years. Equities and the greenback have often traded in an inverse relationship, and a stronger currency could pressure stocks.

Shares of memory-chip maker Micron Technology Inc lost 3.4 percent to $7.02 in premarket trade after Goldman Sachs lowered its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy" and cut its price target to $7.85 from $12.

AK Steel Holdings Corp gave up 2.6 percent at $14.15 after the company updated its third-quarter outlook.

Another Transocean Ltd rig is leaving the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, still under contract with Statoil -- the fourth rig departure resulting from a moratorium on U.S. deepwater drilling. Shares added 0.5 percent to $58.44.

Stocks ended flat on Tuesday, but in a potentially bullish signal, the S&P 500 index stayed above its 200-day moving average of around 1,115 after closing beyond that level on Monday for the first time since early August.

Analysts look for a more decisive breakout to confirm the upward momentum and have their eye on 1,130 as the next resistance point.

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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