* Fed kicks off two-day meeting
* Abbott to buy Starlims Technologies
* U.S. dollar index at highest since early October
* Futures lower: S&P 3.3 pts, Dow 20 pts, Nasdaq 5.5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Recasts, adds quote, byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
slipped on Tuesday, a day after stocks hit a 14-month high, as
concerns about the health of the German economy and euro zone
banks drove the U.S. dollar higher.
A slew of U.S. economic data before the market opens could
determine the direction of trading, even as the Federal Reserve
starts a two-day policy-setting meeting.
The U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro in part after
a German think tank said economic sentiment fell in December,
pointing to a slowdown in the pace of recovery in Europe's
largest economy. For details, see [].
The dollar index <.DXY>, measured against a basket of
currencies, rose 0.8 percent to its highest level since early
October.
"What's moving futures right now is the strength in the
dollar, as that generally correlates with negative action in
the S&P 500 futures," said Tom Schrader, managing director of
U.S. equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in
Baltimore.
"We have a significant amount of economic news today. Most
of it will come out before the open, and if we see weakness, it
will put pressure (on stocks)," Schrader said.
S&P 500 futures <SPc2> fell 3.3 points and 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 <DJc2> dropped
20 points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc2> lost 5.5 points.
The New York Federal Reserve releases its Empire State
manufacturing survey for December at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT).
Economists expect a reading of 24.00 compared with 23.51 in
November.
Also at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT), the Labor Department releases
the November producer price index. Economists in a Reuters
survey forecast a 0.8 percent increase, compared with a 0.3
percent rise in October. Excluding volatile food and energy
items, PPI is seen up 0.2 percent, compared with a 0.6 percent
drop in the prior month.
Redbook releases at 8:55 a.m. (1355 GMT) its retail sales
index of department and chain store sales for December versus
November.
The Federal Reserve releases industrial production and
capacity utilization data for November at 9:15 a.m. (1415 GMT).
Economists forecast an 0.5 percent increase in production
compared with a 0.1 percent rise in October.
In company news, Boeing Co <BA.N> is set to make the first
test flight of its 787 Dreamliner after a delay of almost
two-and-a-half years. The new fuel-efficient plane is seen as
key to the company's future. []
Kraft Foods Inc <KFT.N> said it will maintain discipline in
its pursuit of British chocolate maker Cadbury Plc <CBRY.L>,
suggesting the U.S. group will resist calls to raise its offer.
[]
Starlims Technologies Ltd's <LIMS.O> U.S.-traded shares
surged 45 percent to $13.77 in premarket trading after the
Israel-based company agreed to be acquired by Abbott
Laboratories <ABT.N> for about $123 million. []
* U.S. stocks closed at 14-month highs on Monday as Abu
Dhabi's $10 billion in aid to help Dubai eased concerns over
the emirate's debt problems and Exxon Mobil Corp's <XOM.N>
proposed $30 billion takeover of XTO Energy Inc <XTO.N> raised
optimism about merger-and-acquisition activity.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
