Futures bounce modestly after sell off; Fed minutes due

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher Wednesday, indicating Wall St may bounce slightly after the S&P 500 fell to its lowest level in nearly two months, with minutes due from the most recent meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

* Equities continue to struggle in October, with key indexes falling more than 1 percent in the prior session, as weak German data and a cut in global economic growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund sparked concern about the health of world economies.

* At 2:00 p.m. EDT, the U.S. central bank is set to release the minutes from its September meeting. With the Fed set to complete rolling back its massive monthly bond-buying purchases this month, investors will be looking for clues on how soon the Fed plans to boost interest rates.

* Alcoa is set to unofficially kick off the corporate earnings season after the closing bell. According to Thomson Reuters data, earnings for the third quarter are expected to grow 6.4 percent.

* Asian share markets were mostly in the red and equities in Europe fell, with a benchmark European index slipping to its lowest in nearly two months, amid discouraging signals about the global economy. [.EU]

* S&P 500 e-minis were up 5 points, or 0.26 percent, with 183,390 contracts changing hands.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were gaining 7.5 points, or 0.19 percent, in volume of 30,008 contracts.

* Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 27 points, or 0.16 percent, with 27,587 contracts changing hands.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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