LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat-to-higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, consolidating gains after the S&P 500's best two-day run in a month.
* Futures for the S&P 500 were unchanged, while Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 contracts rose 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, at 0924 GMT.
* Japan's Nikkei <.n225> jumped 2.4 percent to end above 10,000 for the first time in more than eight months on Wednesday on growing expectations of easier monetary policy under a new government.
* European shares continued to drift higher as expectations built that a budget deal in the United States is close, though traders reckoned any positive outcome is largely baked into the price.
* The U.S. Commerce Dept. releases housing starts and permits for November at 1330 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 873,000 housing starts in November versus 894,000 in October, and a total of 875,000 building permits in November compared with 868,000 in the prior month.
* FedEx, the No. 2 U.S. package-delivery company, is due to report second-quarter results at 1230 GMT. It is expected to post earnings per share of $1.41 down from $1.57 one year earlier, as a weakening economy leads corporate customers to choose slower, cheaper and less profitable ways of shipping goods.
* Industrial machinery maker SPX Corp
* U.S. securities regulators on Tuesday outlined potential ways to reduce conflicts of interest at the country's largest credit-rating agencies, Moody's Corp
* Google's Motorola Mobility unit
* The Federal Trade Commission is unlikely to finish its investigation before January into whether Google Inc
* Oracle Corp's
* Pharma group Pfizer
* Time Warner Cable
* Accenture, the technology outsourcing and consulting company, reports first quarter results after the market close.
* The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 115.57 points, or 0.87 percent, to 13,350.96 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 <.spx> gained 16.43 points, or 1.15 percent, to 1,446.79. The Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> added 43.93 points, or 1.46 percent, to 3,054.53.
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; editing by Patrick Graham)
Stock index futures trade flat to higher
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Stock index futures trade flat to higher
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Stock index futures trade flat to higher