Stock index futures were flat on Monday ahead of manufacturing data after a similar report on Europe's manufacturing sector raised concerns about a recession in the region.

The Institute for Supply Management's March manufacturing index, is due at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect an improved reading of 53.0 versus 52.4 in February. In February, the pace of growth unexpectedly slowed after three consecutive months of gains, a reminder of the bumpy economic recovery.

The market also awaited construction spending for February, due at 10 a.m.

What we are seeing this morning is nothing but noise coming off of another positive week last week, and I don't see a reason why the solid trend will not continue, said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York.

The market has been betting on positive economic numbers and I expect that to continue.

Nonetheless, the euro zone's manufacturing sector shrank for an eighth straight month in March, according to Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index.

In contrast, Chinese manufacturing gained momentum in March, helped by a recovery in automotive, tobacco and electronics.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.5 point and were slightly 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 16 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were off 2.75 points.

Stocks closed their strongest quarter in more than two years on a positive note on Friday, led by underperforming sectors like energy and health care.

Despite falling six of the last nine sessions, the S&P 500 gained 12 percent in the first quarter, its best start of the year since 1998 and the best overall quarter since the third period of 2009. The broad index sits just off 4-year highs.

The oil sector will be in the spotlight as French oil major Total SA prepared to fly experts to a North Sea oil platform ahead of an operation to cap a well spewing gas for the past week. U.S.-listed Total shares rose 0.6 percent to $51.43 in premarket trade.

Oil futures dropped about 0.5 percent, with Brent crude slipping near $122 a barrel, following a 14 percent rise in the first quarter.

Equity markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday, which could create lighter volume and increase volatility. The government will release the March payrolls report on Friday, which could leave investors reticent to make big bets ahead of the data. Trading volume was expected to be light all week.

Beauty company Coty Inc offered to buy cosmetics direct seller Avon Products Inc for $10 billion, or $23.25 a share, a 20 percent premium over Friday's closing price. Avon jumped 19 percent to $23.05 premarket.

Visa Inc dropped payment processor Global Payments Inc from its list of approved service providers after a major cyber intrusion. Visa, MasterCard Inc , American Express Co and Discover Financial Services all confirmed they were affected by the breach, which could expose their cardholders to fraudulent charges.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Manufacturing