U.S. shares set for flat start, data in focus

LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street looked set to open little changed on Friday ahead of economic data that might provide a steer on the outlook for the economy, which has recently thrown up a string of weak figures.

Kraft Foods is in the spotlight after Berkshire Hathaway , the holding company controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett, said it had taken an 8.6 percent stake in the company. Kraft's shares rose 3 percent in extended-hours trading on Thursday.

Friday's economic data include import/export prices and the New York Fed manufacturing survey, net capital inflows and net foreign Treasury sales and a final reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey.

At 6:00 a.m. ET, S&P futures and Dow futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.1 percent.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as the credit crunch surfaced unexpectedly in the municipal bond market and after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he expected sluggish economic growth.

"The Fed Chairman came about as close as he dared to promise more rate cuts without committing his fellow Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members," UniCredit said in a note.

Bernanke's comments reinforced market expectations the Fed would cut interest rates again in March, on top of the 225 basis points it has cut since September.

Banks are also in focus on Friday, with shares in Swiss bank UBS down 5 percent as fears of more massive losses mounted after equity analysts at Citigroup said UBS could need up to $18 billion in additional write-downs in 2008.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was down 0.7 percent at 1,326.6, led by banks.

Worries about a deteriorating credit market were exacerbated on Thursday when Moody's Investors Service slashed its rating on bond insurer FGIC Corp. The move could lead to even more write-downs at banks that own securities covered by the company.

U.S. stocks ended a three-day string of gains on Thursday as the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 1.4 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> surrendered 1.7 percent.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga, editing by Will Waterman)