RTRS: US STOCKS-Futures flat as caution offsets stimulus bets
* Home price index, Q3 GDP data, consumer confidence eyed
* Treasury's Paulson to unveil consumer credit plan
* General Motors' loss view widened at JPMorgan
* For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on STXNEWS/US
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as caution before economic reports offset hopes that government plans to stimulate lending and revive growth will help avert a deep economic downturn.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson plans to announce on Tuesday the formation of a program to increase the availability of auto loans, student loans and credit cards, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. For details, see [ID:nBNG425002]
Also high on the agenda is a slew of data, including revised figures on third-quarter gross domestic product, likely to show the economy contracted further as the credit crisis and fallout from rising unemployment took their toll.
The U.S. economy is expected to shrink 0.5 percent in the third quarter, revised from an initial government reading that showed a 0.3 percent contraction.
"We've had two solid days of gains, and most of the economic news is widely expected to be quite negative," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.
"So I expect a consolidation day, with an upside bias. It looks as though stimulus packages are gaining ground throughout the global economy and that, of course, will ease fears of a deepening contraction in economic activity."
S&P 500 futures SPc1 slipped 1.50 points and were slightly 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 DJc1 shed 19 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures gained 6.50 points.
Expectations for a second U.S. economic stimulus plan gained more traction on Monday when President-elect Barack Obama said the economy was in need of a stimulus "significant enough that it really gives a jolt to the economy." He did not put a price tag on the two-year stimulus proposal, which other Democrats have estimated as high as $700 billion.
In Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France will launch a "quite massive" stimulus plan to revive the flagging economy in the next 10 days.
The lending facility to be unveiled by Paulson will be operated by the Federal Reserve, and it is expected to provide loans to investors who want to buy securities backed by credit cards, auto loans and student loans, according to the Journal. [ID:nBNG425002]
In stock research news, JPMorgan widened its 2009 loss per share forecast for General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to $25.25 from $22.
The GDP report is due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT), followed by the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for September at 9 a.m. (1400 GMT), while a reading on November consumer confidence is due at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)
U.S. stocks soared on Monday, capping the best two-day run since the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash, as the government's decision to rescue Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) spurred an enormous relief rally.
