Futures flat after recent sell-off

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday as investors took a break from the previous day’s sharp decline, which was the S&P’s worst day since June.

* Market participants have been seeking new catalysts to keep pushing shares higher since the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank announced stimulus measures earlier this month. The S&P is up almost 6 percent so far this quarter, with much of those gains coming on expectations for such announcements from the central banks.

* Further gains may be hard to come by amid concerns over the impact that slowing global growth could have on companies. Tuesday’s sell-off came as Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) became the latest high-profile company to cut its outlook, joining FedEx Corp (FDX.N).

* In another discouraging sign for corporate America, Jabil Circuit (JBL.N) late Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed expectations and forecast weak first-quarter results.

* S&P 500 futures fell 1.2 point but remained above 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 fell 5 points and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 4.25 points.

* The S&P 500 is up 2.5 percent so far in September, historically a difficult month for the market, and recently hit the highest level in nearly five years.

* The last session of the third quarter is Friday, and the quarter’s strongest performers could see some additional upside on “window dressing,” when money managers add the latest outperforming stocks to their portfolios before the end of the quarter. MetroPCS (PCS.N) and Sprint Nextel (S.N) are the top two gainers quarter-to-date.