By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday, after the Dow and S&P 500 closed at fresh records and ahead of a raft of economic data.* Major Wall Street indexes have risen for four straight sessions, pushing the benchmark S&P index to its 50th record high of the year. The S&P has risen 5.4 percent over that period, its best 4-day run since July 2010. The sharp rally comes on the heels of a selloff that saw the index drop nearly 5 percent from its prior record high set on Dec. 5.* Investors will eye a slew of economic data on Tuesday, including the final reading for third-quarter gross domestic product and durable goods at 8:30 a.m.. Expectations call for GDP to show the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3 percent annual pace, up from the prior estimate of 3.9 percent. Durable goods orders are expected to show a 2.9 percent increase.* The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final December reading on consumer sentiment is scheduled for release at 9:55 a.m. New home sales data for November as well as the November reading for personal income and spending are expected at 10 a.m..* Trading volume is expected to be light this week due to the Christmas holiday, which could increase volatility. U.S. equity markets will open for an abbreviated session Wednesday and be closed on Thursday.* Gilead Sciences rose 1.2 percent in premarket trade. The drugmaker slumped more than 14 percent in the prior session, its biggest drop in nearly 14 years, after Express Scripts said it lined up a cheaper price for AbbVie Inc's newly approved hepatitis C treatment and, in most cases, will no longer cover Gilead's rival treatments.* China Finance jumped 15.8 percent to $6.16 before the opening bell after the web-based financial services company posted quarterly results.* In Europe, a pullback on the Greek stock market on fears of early elections kept a lid on gains in the region's equities. Trading was light in Asia with Japan on holiday and markets moved only marginally. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3 percent. [.EU]Futures snapshot at 7:23 a.m. EST:* S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.25 points, or 0.11 percent, with 44,713 contracts changing hands.* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.75 points, or 0.16 percent, in volume of 6,150 contracts.* Dow e-minis were up 28 points, or 0.16 percent, with 6,284 contracts changing hands.(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)Join the conversation about this story »
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