US stock futures point flat

NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) US stock futures signaled a flat Wall Street opening on Tuesday after mixed early results from retailers including Home Depot Inc., and with investors on edge before inflation data.

Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, reported a lower quarterly profit that missed analysts' estimates. Its shares were down 1.1 percent in European trading.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, but it forecast fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations at 88 cents to 92 cents a share. Analysts expected 92 cents on average.

Wal-Mart shares were up slightly in Europe.

The U.S. Labor Department releases its October report on the Producer Price Index at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT), which could help determine the course of interest rates. At the same time, the Commerce Department releases October U.S. retail sales.

''Today's focus is on retailers and PPI. The real question is, how badly is the consumer being hit, based on the slowdown we've seen in the housing market,'' said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.3 point, but were about flat with fair value, a formula to evaluate pricing based on interest rates, dividends and the contract's time to expiration. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 3 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

For the retail sales report, economists in a Reuters survey expect a median 0.4 percent fall, the same as in September.

Excluding automobiles, sales are seen down 0.2 percent compared with a 0.5 percent fall the prior month.

For PPI, economists forecast a median 0.5 percent fall compared with a 1.3 percent decline in September. Excluding volatile food and energy items, PPI is seen rising 0.1 percent compared with a 0.6 percent rise in the prior month.

On Monday, stocks ended higher as investors bet that falling oil prices would support corporate earnings growth, pushing up shares of industrial bellwethers such as General Electric Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.45 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 12,131.88. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index edged up 3.52 points, or 0.25 percent, to finish at 1,384.42.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 16.66 points, or 0.70 percent, at 2,406.38.

REUTERS PKS BS1845