Stock index futures fell on Monday as weak growth in Japan added to worries about the strength of the global economy that have sunk equity markets in recent days.

In the latest sign the recovery may lag expectations, Japan's economy grew just 0.1 percent in the second quarter, below forecasts. The poor data pressured Asian equities and that weakness fed into European trading.

Peter Boockvar, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York, said investors were paring back their exposure to riskier assets after the data dented confidence in the Asian recovery.

Bond markets around the world are rallying, with yields hitting new lows, he said. With their (Japan's) exposure to Asia, people were hoping for more strength.

S&P 500 futures fell 3.8 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 dipped 33 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 3.25 points.

Last week, U.S. stocks posted their worst performance in six weeks after a downbeat assessment of the economy from the U.S. Federal Reserve rattled investors, sending equity markets lower and safe-haven bonds sharply higher.

A number of datapoints will provide insight into the strength on the U.S. economy. At 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) the New York Fed releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for August, while at 10:00 EDT (14.00 GMT) the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) issues its housing market index for the same month.

Economists look for a Fed manufacturing reading of 8 for August versus the prior reading of 5.08, while the NAHB index is seen at 15 for August, versus 14 in July.

Home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc missed quarterly profit and sales estimates as benefits from a homebuyer tax credit and cash-for-appliances programs waned. Still, the shares rose 1 percent to $19.79 in premarket trading.

European shares slipped 0.6 percent after two straight winning sessions, led lower by financials. The Nikkei index closed down 0.6 percent, recovering from an early drop of as much as 1.7 percent

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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