By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U .S. stock futures were weak on Tuesday, as investors remained risk averse and avoided momentum stocks.

The Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting will begin Tuesday and many fret the policy makers will take a hawkish stand on interest rates.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) fell 33 points to 16,910, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) eased 3.8 points to 1,972.300. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) fell 12 points to 4,013.50.

In economic news, producer prices were flat in August thanks to falling gasoline and food costs in another sign of receding inflationary pressure. It was the lowest reading in the producer price index since December, the Labor Department reported.

Tech and small-cap stocks led a mostly losing day on Wall Street on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dropping 1.07% as investors turned risk-averse ahead of the Fed meeting. Analysts are looking for a change in the Fed's language that could signal sooner-than-expected rate hikes.

Alain Bokobza, global head of asset allocation at Societe Generale, and his team advised investors to "switch out of expensive, illiquid and over-owned assets," rotating out of small-cap stocks and into large-cap equities in Europe and the U.S. "As the Fed continues to normalize its monetary policy, small caps are at risk of a large correction," he said. Read Need to Know: A dearth of deep-value plays

Data compiled by Bloomberg News showed 47% of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite are down at least 20% from their peak in the past 12 months, and more than 40% of Russell 2000 (RUT)members have fallen by as much. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index has logged 33 new closing highs this year, and fewer than 6% of companies have entered what is considered bear-market territory, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Stocks to watch: Majesco Entertainment Co. (COOL) fell 14% in premarket after a similar drop late Monday when the video-game maker posted a larger-than-expected third-quarter loss.

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) rose modestly in premarket after falling hard Monday on a Morgan Stanley note that said the electric-car maker's stock is overvalued. But Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research advised in a note Tuesday that investors buy Tesla on weakness, as he reiterated an overweight rating and a 12-to-18-month price target of $385. (Read more about the day's notable movers here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/adobe-factset-earnings-in-spotlight-2014-09-16.)

Other markets:Asian stocks largely fell. China's largest wireless carrier China Mobile Ltd. tumbled 3.8% at the close, after reports said the release date for iPhone 6 in mainland China is still uncertain. Data out of China also showed that in August foreign direct investment fell to a four-year low. This followed weak factory data released over the weekend.

A disappointing German economic sentiment survey put pressure on already weak European stocks . Worries about this week's Scottish referendum continued to dull markets, also weighing some on U.S. stock futures.

Among currencies, the Russian ruble (USDRUB) continued to fall against the U.S. dollar, off another 1% as sanctions worries weighed. Gold(GCZ4) edged up on the heels of Monday's first win in five sessions.(RUT)

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires