Stocks are set to open modestly lower, as the cautious underlying tone continues ahead of the Fed’s decision on interest rates and important economic data later this week. Thirty minutes before the opening bell on Wall Street, stock index futures hint at a possible 30 or 40 point early loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

With little happening in the financial world today, investors await the Federal Reserve’s decision on rates Wednesday afternoon. The two-day meeting begins today.

Then, the strength of the consumer will come into focus, with retail sales numbers, along with earnings from a number of retailers, due out Thursday and Friday.

In economic news Tuesday, the latest report on productivity showed a better-than-expected increase of 6.4 percent in the second quarter. Economists had expected a 5.5 percent increase. Unit Labor Costs plunged 5.8 percent, faster than the -2.5 percent economist forecast and the fastest pace since 2001.

A report on wholesale inventories is due out at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. Economists expect a decline of .9 percent in June.

Bonds are holding gains on the drop in labor costs and expectations the Fed will keep rates steady at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is up 6/32nd and yields 3.75 percent.

The dollar is off .82 to 96.27 on the Japanese yen. The euro is little changed at 1.4137 on the buck.

Crude oil edged up 4 cents to $70.64 a barrel and gold gained 90 cents to $947.80 an ounce.

The stock news is light. Relm Wireless (RWC), Qwest Software (QSFT), and Flour (FLR) are moving higher on earnings. Peabody Energy (BTU) is up after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its Conviction Buy List. Wendy’s (WEN) is seeing strength after CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer made positive comments about the company.

AgFeed (FEED), Zoltek (ZOLT), and Force Protection (FRPT) are set to gap lower on earnings news. MBIA (MBI) is down after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to underweight. Bunge (BG) fell after announcing an offering of 10 million shares.