* ADP employment, Fed Beige Book on tap
* Futures: Dow off 7 pts, S&P up 0.4 pts, Nasdaq off 1.5
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
flat on Wednesday as investors awaited a private-sector
employment report and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of
regional economic conditions.
Investors may look to the ADP National Employment private
sector survey for clues ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls
report. Analysts expect the number of private-sector job losses
to shrink to 155,000 from 203,000 in October. The ADP report is
due to come at 8:15 a.m. EST (1315 GMT).
"Right now the biggest factor in the Christmas season is
employment," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView
Capital Management in New York.
"We've come back a long way, but the key also is the market
is no longer just looking for steady and constant unemployment.
They are looking for indications that hiring is at least
beginning."
The Federal Reserve periodic Beige Book survey of regional
U.S. economic conditions is scheduled for release at 2 p.m. EST
(1900 GMT)
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> added 0.4 points and were slightly
above 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 <DJc1>
dipped 7 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> shed 1.5
points.
Nokia <NOK1V.HE><NOK.N>, the world's largest cell-phone
maker, said it expects handset market volumes to grow about 10
percent next year. For details, see [] U.S. listed
shares fell 0.7 percent to $13.41 in premarket trading.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> fell nearly 1 percent to below
$78 per barrel after industry data showed a surprise build in
U.S. crude stocks, raising doubts over demand recovery.
[]
General Motors Co's [] board of directors fired Chief
Executive Fritz Henderson on Tuesday, saying it wanted to chart
a new course as the U.S. automaker pushes ahead with its
restructuring. []
European shares were little changed after their biggest
one-day gain in more than 4 months in the previous session, as
a decline in banking stocks offset gains in pharmaceutical and
food shares. []
Asian stocks rose as investors chased higher returns,
confident that Dubai's debt woes will be contained.
[]
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed at its
highest level in 14 months as a weak dollar boosted shares of
natural resource companies and economic data reinforced hopes
for a sustainable recovery. []
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe)
((Charles.mikolajczak@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 5234;
Reuters
Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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