* U.S. dollar hits 1-year low against the euro
* Fed starts two-day policy-setting meeting
* GIC cuts stake in Citigroup; Citi shares rise
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click STXNEWS/US
(Adds quote, Credit Suisse recommendations, byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar hit a 1-year low against the euro
ahead of the start of a Federal Reserve monetary policy
meeting, boosting oil and metals prices.
The Federal Reserve starts its two-day monetary policy
meeting on Tuesday with a decision on interest rates due at
around 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) the following day. Markets will be
looking for any comment indicating how the Fed might wind down
its financial stimulus measures, given the improving
macroeconomic data. For details see [].
The euro reached a one-year high against the U.S. dollar as
dealers took advantage of the greenback's gains the previous
session to resume selling ahead of the Fed meeting and a G20
summit later in the week. The dollar index <.DXY> tumbled 0.8
percent.
"The dollar is under pressure this morning, and that is
(increasing) risk appetite in commodities," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New
York.
He said the shift to commodities "is spilling over into the
equity markets as well."
Crude futures <CLc1> rose 1.5 percent to $70.77 per barrel
and copper for three-month delivery <MCU3> rose 1.8 percent.
Citigroup Inc <C.N> shares rose 2.5 percent to $4.54 before
the opening bell. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp
(GIC) said it has cut its stake in Citi through open market
sales to below 5 percent. GIC held more than 9 percent of Citi
on Sept. 11, when it converted its preference shares to
ordinary shares.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 7.5 points and were 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 <DJc1> gained 61
points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> added 10.25 points.
The day's economic agenda includes Redbook's Retail Sales
Index of weekly department and chain store sales at 8:55 a.m.
(1255 GMT).
At 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), a home prices index and a regional
manufacturing survey will give investors further insight into
the state of the U.S. economy.
Credit Suisse downgraded Dell Inc <DELL.O> to "neutral" and
recommended Hewlett-Packard Co <HPQ.N>, Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and
EMC Corp <EMC.N>. Dell shares fell 0.6 percent to $15.91 in
premarket trading while Dow component HP rose 2 percent to
$47.30. For details, see [].
The head of Cadbury PLC <CBRY.L>, which is facing a
possible takeover by U.S. food giant Kraft Foods Inc <KFT.N>,
said there were some "complementary elements" in the two
companies' portfolios, according to a Wall Street Journal
report. But Cadbury Chief Executive Todd Stitzer said his
company's shareholders still reject the deal at the $16 billion
price offered by Kraft.
Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>, the world's biggest maker
of memory chips, said on Tuesday it remains cautious about the
sector's outlook even as the industry emerges from its two-year
slump.
The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 index fell on Monday as
a drop in oil and other commodity prices hurt energy and
materials stocks. But the Nasdaq rose, buoyed by a broker's
upgrade in the biotechnology sector.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
