By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were flat on Tuesday as investors found few reasons to continue buying after a five-day rally in the S&P 500, though Netflix jumped following its earnings results.
* Netflix Inc
* Dow components Travelers Cos Inc
* United Tech was the latest prominent name to outperform this earnings season, continuing a trend that last week helped lift the S&P 500 to its best week since July.
* Dozens of S&P 500 components are slated to report this week, and of the 87 that had reported thus far, 62.1 percent have topped earnings expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data, compared with the 66 percent average over the past four quarters. On the revenue side, 51.7 percent have exceeded forecasts, below the 54 percent average over the past four quarters.
* S&P 500 companies' first-quarter earnings are projected to have increased 0.8 percent from a year ago, Thomson Reuters data showed. The forecast is down sharply from the start of the year, when profit growth was estimated at 6.5 percent.
* S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 point and were slightly under 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 added 11 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 9.75 points.
* European shares <.FTEU3> were sharply higher on the day, rising 1.2 percent on the back of deal activity in the pharmaceutical space, including Novartis
* Rail stocks may be in focus following the latest delay in the Keystone XL Pipeline approval, which effectively cements the view that U.S. freight rail haulers are here to stay as big players in the oil-shipping business.
* General Motors Co
(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
