Stock index futures dipped on Monday as investors paused for profit-taking after a sharp run-up, ahead of key indicators on consumer spending due later this week.

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a 10-month high as a better-than-expected July jobs report underpinned hopes that the economy was on the cusp of a recovery. The broad index is now up about 50 percent from its 12-year closing low in early March.

European stocks were lower on Monday, under pressure from banking and commodity stocks including Daimler , Total , Barclays PLC and Rio Tinto PLC.

We are in a mild profit-taking mode after a rally, and we are also nearing September, the historically worst month for stocks, said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in New York.

Investors will eye the Federal Reserve's statement on Wednesday afternoon at the end of its two-day interest rate-setting meeting. The central bank is expected to hold rates near zero, but investors will look for signals of an exit strategy from its efforts to prop up the financial system.

Also later this week, July retail sales data as well as quarterly scorecards from major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc , J.C. Penney Co and Macy's Inc will give a snapshot of the industry and how consumer spending is faring in the recession.

With earnings season almost over, the focus is now on consumers and the Fed this week, said Hogan.

Consumer-dependent retailers, one of the biggest gainers on Friday, could see the tide turn after JPMorgan Chase & Co cut its second-quarter earnings forecast for Wal-Mart by 2 cents to 84 cents a share. The retail-giant, still rated overweight by JPMorgan, is set to report its quarterly results on Thursday.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc posted its best quarter in nearly two years on Sunday, as recovering stock markets boosted the value of its equity investments and derivatives bets.

But operating earnings for the second quarter fell short of forecasts, reflecting lower underwriting gains, including from the Geico Corp auto insurance unit, and the impact of the recession on Berkshire's more economically sensitive manufacturing and service units.

Dynegy Inc reported a second-quarter loss, hurt by lower prices, and the stock was little changed.

On the economic front, the Conference Board's releases its U.S. employment trends index for July is due for release at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

S&P 500 index futures were down 2 points, and below 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 13 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures shed 4.5 points.

For the week, the Dow ended up 2.2 percent, the S&P 500 up 2.3 percent and the Nasdaq up 1.1 percent.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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