Stock futures flat

Ahead of retail same-store sales for September, Costco Wholesale Corp reported a quarterly profit that beat expectations, suggesting an improvement in the weak U.S. retail environment.

Investors are awaiting the unofficial start of earnings season, with aluminum group Alcoa Inc the first Dow component due to report after the market closes.

Commodity-linked currencies hit multi-month highs a day after Australia raised rates as the financial crisis eases, while gold hit another record high and oil edged up 0.3 percent.

Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig said Tuesday that while the U.S. economy is clearly rebounding, it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to begin to withdraw its massive support.

S&P 500 futures rose 2 points but 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 20 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 2.5 points.

Amazon.com Inc stock will be in view as the online retailer introduces Kindle, its wireless electronic reader, in over 100 countries, including China and most of Europe, and will lower its price in the United States.

Shares of AT&T Inc will also be in the spotlight as it opens its third-generation wireless network to third-party Internet voice applications on Apple Inc's iPhone, clearing the way for services such as Skype.

Impax Laboratories Inc said it will be able to sell a generic version of Astellas Pharma Inc's <4503.T> Flomax prostate drug next year under a settlement agreement.

French media giant Vivendi SA is likely to sell its 20 percent stake in media company NBC Universal and may discuss the matter at a board meeting on October 14, a source close to the situation told Reuters on Wednesday.

Insurance risk specialist Verisk Analytics Inc raised $1.88 billion on Tuesday in the biggest initial public offering by a U.S. company since March 2008.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday amid signs the global economy was recovering and optimism that corporate earnings reports will beat expectations.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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