By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock-index futures were mixed Tuesday, pointing to a flat start for Wall Street as the Federal Reserve begins its two-day monetary-policy meeting.
S&P 500 futures fell 2.2 points to 1,005.20. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 2.5 points to 1,610. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 16 points.
Data to be released by the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. Eastern are forecast to show second-quarter U.S. unit labor costs fell 5.3%, while productivity is expected to show a 5.4% increase, according to a survey of economists by MarketWatch.
Meanwhile, many strategists have grown skeptical of prospects for the market's continued advance.
The S&P 500 has rallied more than 50% from its March lows, with only a brief interruption coming amid a bout of selling in late June and early July. But both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Dow Jones Transportation Average have topped their January highs, developments regarded as bullish signals by followers of the Dow Theory. See related story.
The major U.S. stock indexes pulled back Monday, with the Dow industrials (INDU 9,338, -32.12, -0.34%) slipping 32 points, or 0.3% to 9,337. The S&P 500 (SPX 1,007, -3.38, -0.33%) closed 3 points lower at 1,007, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP 1,992, -8.01, -0.40%) lost 8 points, or 0.4%, to end at 1,992.
Among stocks in focus for Tuesday, Fluor Corp. (FLR 57.49, -0.72, -1.24%) said after Monday's bell that it produced a second-quarter profit of $169 million, or 93 cents a share, down from $208 million, or $1.12 a share, a year earlier.
Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF 6.46, +0.49, +8.21%) said late Monday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose to $36.3 million, or 30 cents a share, from $3.5 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Celadon Group Inc. (CLDN 9.08, +0.29, +3.30%) is expected to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 3 cents a share on Tuesday, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Western Gas Partners LP (WES 16.91, +0.20, +1.20%) is expected to post second-quarter earnings of 28 cents a share.
European markets were mixed, while Asian indexes saw a higher finish. Read Europe Markets. Read Asia Markets.
The U.S. dollar was lower against the Japanese yen.
Oil futures were up 12 cents to trade at $70.72 a barrel in electronic trade.
