US STOCKS-Futures flat as bond yields rise

                                
  
                                
 * Higher bond yields, dollar pressure futures
                                
 * Fortune Brands to split company into three, shares up
                                
 * Futures: S&P up 0.4 pt, Dow off 9 pts, Nasdaq up 4 pts
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Writes through, adds details, quote, byline)
                                
 By Leah Schnurr
                                
 NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Wednesday, pressured by rising bond yields
and a stronger dollar.
                                
 Yields rose along with the greenback following Tuesday's
deal to extend tax cuts that intensified worries about
inflation and the costs of the government's debt burden. For
details, see [ID:nL3E6N80FG]
                                
 Higher bond yields makes it more expensive for consumers
and businesses to borrow, while stocks and the dollar have
moved in opposite directions of late. A rise in yields and the
dollar could also draw money away from equities.
                                
 The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 3.25 percent
<US10YT=RR> during trading in Asia, a level not seen since late
June and beyond Tuesday's high of 3.18 percent. The dollar
index <.DXY> rose 0.6 percent.
                                
 "We've been extremely closely tied to what happens to the
dollar versus the euro," said Arthur Hogan, chief market
analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston.
                                
 "We've got a little strength in the dollar this morning. So
that puts pressure on equities markets and commodities
markets."
                                
 Adding negative sentiment was news the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission has issued more than a dozen subpoenas in
its investigation of insider trading on Wall Street,
potentially undermining public confidence in the markets.
[ID:nN07296421]
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 0.4 point and were 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> fell 9
points, while Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> added 4 points.
                                
 The S&P 500 faces resistance at the 1,228 level, which
represents the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the
2007-2009 bear market slide, a key technical indicator. The
level was confirmed as strong resistance on Tuesday after the
index broke through during the session but closed below that
point at 1,223.12.
                                
 On the Nasdaq, Foster Wheeler AG <FWLT.O> rose 1.8 percent
to $31.16 in light premarket trade after Goldman Sachs raised
its rating to "buy" from "neutral" and boosted the U.S.
engineering and construction sector to "attractive" from
"neutral." [ID:nWNAB7468]
                                
 Chipmaker bellwether Texas Instruments Inc <TXN.N> narrowed
its earnings outlook in line with estimates, and its shares
were off 1.2 percent to $33. The company also said it was
confident a recent correction in demand for its chips would be
short-lived. [ID:nN07288607]
                                
 Home Depot Inc <HD.N> forecast an increase in both sales
and profits next year, but its shares eased 0.8 percent to
$33.30 premarket. [ID:nN08123950]
                                
 Fortune Brands Inc <FO.N> said it plans to split into three
companies, sending its shares up 4.7 percent at $64.
[ID:nN08124002]
                                
 Stocks eked out a small gain Tuesday after an earlier
advance as a tax cut deal was derailed by the rising bond
yields and reports of the insider-trading probe.
  (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)