U.S. stock futures flat, GM rises on upgrade

NEW YORK, May 24 (Reuters) U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat to slightly weaker open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with shares of energy and metals companies likely to exert downward pressure on renewed selling of oil, gold and other commodities.

A suspected case of human-to-human transmission of bird flu in Indonesia also put investors on edge. For details, see ID:nJAK153112 But in a positive development, Dow component General Motors Corp.

rose more than 3 percent before the opening bell after Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating.

''We face a mixed opening. We have economic data in focus. I suspect we're headed for a choppy market today as the market tries to bottom out,'' said Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst at S.W.

Bach&Co. in New York.

''The Indonesian bird flu case is negative and it's hurting European stocks. It could be a factor in our market as well. It's just one more excuse to have a cautious attitude.'' S&P 500 futures were up 2.30 points, but below fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures increased 25 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.25 point.

The Indonesian case contributed to a sell-off in European stocks even though the World Health Organization said there was no evidence the virus has mutated to allow it to pass easily among people.

The case lifted shares of biotechnology companies whose products could be used to tackle the bird flu virus, including Gilead Sciences Inc..

Economic data scheduled for release include April durable goods orders, which a Reuters poll of economists forecast to show a decline of 0.5 percent after a 6.4 percent March rise. The data are due at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) Data on new home sales are expected to show a slip in April after a bounce in the previous month. New home sales are set for release at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT).

Citigroup Inc. will likely be in focus after sources said Citigroup was in talks to bring a leading Chinese insurer into a consortium to buy into Guangdong Development Bank (GDB). ID:nSHA1808 Medical devices maker Medtronic Inc. would also be in the spotlight after it reported a sharply higher quarterly profit after the bell on Tuesday, and raised its earnings forecasts for fiscal 2007 and 2008.

Merrill Lynch raised its rating on GM to ''buy,'' MarketWatch reported on its Web site, helping the stock jump to .36 on the Inet electronic brokerage system. ID:nWNA6232.

On the energy front, investors await the release of government weekly inventory data, expected to show an increase of 1.2 million barrels in gasoline inventories when it is released at 10:30 a.m.

(1430 GMT).

REUTERS CS ND1800