US STOCKS-S&P 500 futures briefly up after sales data

NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - S&P 500 stock index futures briefly turned positive as a government report on February U.S. retail sales pointed to some stabilization in consumer spending, overshadowing news of an increase in the number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the latest week.

* S&P 500 futures SPc1 dipped 0.70 points and were about even with fair value, a formula to evaluate pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 fell 20 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures dipped 4.25 points. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by James Dalgleish)