Stock index futures fell on Tuesday, ahead of report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded for the first time since the recession began, as fears persist about the strength of the global recovery.

The Institute for Supply Management's August survey follows similar reports in China and Europe that showed manufacturing around the world continues to stabilize.

As investors look for signs the nascent housing recovery is gathering steam, data is also expected to show U.S. pending home sales probably rose 2.0 percent in July, a slowing from June's 3.6 percent.

Some investors say the global rally in stocks, which has pushed the S&P 500 index up about 50 percent since early March, has run too far ahead of the recovery and may be due for a pullback. Recent falls in China's stock market have added to worries.

There are concerns mounting that the market has got ahead of itself, and as investors look to China it appears that they are running into a bout of concern regarding their own economy, said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey.

Looking ahead to the data releases, he said: The market has to be certain there is no economic weakness, especially with the concerns in China - that would totally pull the rug from under the market.

S&P 500 futures fell 7.0 points and were 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 lost 64 points and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 11.75 points

The ISM's manufacturing index, due out at 10 a.m. along with the housing data, will likely show a reading of 50.5, up from 48.9 in July, according to forecasts of the 78 economists polled by Reuters. A reading below 50 points to contraction while a reading above 50 points to expansion.

Bank of America Corp is offering to repay part of the U.S. government bailout money, starting with the $20 billion it received in January to help with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website late on Monday.

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs are set to release weekly data on U.S. chain store retail sales at 7.45 a.m.

U.S. shares closed lower on Monday, as concerns about the global economy's health weighed on Wall Street following a sell-off in Chinese equities.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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