* U.S. stock index futures flat
* Goldman Sachs, Citigroup earnings on tap
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were flat on Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average topped the key 10,000 level and ahead of quarterly results from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
* The banks will report a day after stronger-than-expected results from JPMorgan Chase & Co as well as stronger results from Intel Corp helped drive stocks to new yearly highs on hopes a stronger earnings season would support a 7-month rally.
* Citigroup Inc is expected to report a third-quarter loss of 38 cents a share, according to a Reuters poll. Goldman Sachs Group Inc is tipped to earn $4.20 per share.
* Shares in both Citigroup and Goldman Sachs shares rose about 1.2 percent in premarket trade.
* "Despite the well received positive earnings from yesterday, the market is looking for confirmation today as earnings hold the key for a full and robust economic recovery," said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey. "Each positive earnings results solidifies the V-shaped recovery the market is hoping for."
* S&P 500 futures rose 1.8 points and were 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 gained 11 points, and Nasdaq futures lost 1 point.
* Big technology names are also due to report earnings after the bell. Analysts look for International Business Machines Corp to earn $2.38 per share versus $2.05 a year earlier, while Google Inc is tipped to report $5.42 compared with $4.92 a year ago.
* IBM shares rose 0.1 percent in thin premarket trade, while Google was flat.
* Other companies set to report include technology company Advanced Micro Devices Inc, motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc and supermarket chain Safeway Inc.
* European shares rose 0.7 percent by late morning, hitting a one-year high for a second straight day, with technology and financial stocks the biggest gainers.
* The Labor Department is to release the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists look for a rise of 0.2 percent compared with a 0.4 percent rise in August.
* The New York Federal Reserve details its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for October, an early indicator of economic activity during the month. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 18.00 compared with 18.88 in September. The data is due at 8:30 a.m.
* Also at 8:30 a.m., initial weekly jobless claims are due, with economists looking for a total of 525,000, up from 521,000 the prior week, as economy still struggles with high unemployment.