Stock index futures were flat on Tuesday as investors found little reason to keep pushing shares higher after a 1 percent rally in the previous session.

The surge on Monday came after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that supportive monetary policy will remain even though the job picture has begun to improve.

While the comments were greeted positively, the S&P has gained 12.6 percent so far this year, suggesting further upside could be limited. The nearly 6-month rally has come partly after accommodative measures by central banks around the world.

Investors are taking a step back right now because of yesterday's move, and because they want to see how things play out with the data, said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I think the market is still undervalued, but people will still be focusing on how big of a run-up we've had.

A reading on March consumer confidence will be released at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) and was seen edging lower to 70.3 from 70.8 in the previous month.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, due at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT), is expected to decline but improve from the prior month and will follow a string of mixed data on the housing market.

S&P 500 futures fell 2.7 points but remained above 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 added 8 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were off 2.75 points.

Homebuilder Lennar Corp reported a sharp rise in first-quarter orders and said it saw strong signs of improvement in sales activity. The stock rose 3.2 percent to $27.25 in premarket trading.

For-profit U.S. college Apollo Group Inc late Monday said enrollments could decline sharply as it struggles to attract students amid strict admission policies. The shares fell 6.3 percent to $40.50 before the bell.

Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc climbed 8.1 percent to $9.06 premarket after Bausch & Lomb agreed to buy the company for about $500 million in cash.

The S&P 500 rebounded from its worst week so far this year to retake a four-year high on Monday after the comments from Bernanke. All 10 S&P 500 sectors rose.

(The story is corrected by changing the day of week in 1st paragraph)

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Ben Bernanke