* BP shifts U.S. oil spill blame to contractors
* European bank shares erase losses
* Staples, Costco rise after Goldman upgrades
* Futures up: S&P 2.1 pts, Dow 11 pts, Nasdaq 6 pts (Updates prices, adds Talbots, Staples, Costco)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open slightly higher on Wednesday, tracking a turnaround in European stocks and ahead of Federal Reserve comments on the state of the economy.
Investors will eye the release of U.S. central bank's Beige Book at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), anecdotal reports gathered from its 12 regional banks that could offer insight into U.S. economic conditions.
"I believe we're beginning to see some indicators show the economy leveling off at a slow growth rate," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York. "With interest rates this low, that is a positive for the stock market."
U.S. futures got their cue from a reversal in European stocks. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares was up 0.6 percent after falling more than 0.4 percent earlier in the session. Traders said results of a Portuguese bond auction helped bolster sentiment.
"Fears of sovereign debt have crept back into the market, but they're somewhat overblown," Cardillo said.
The STOXX Europe 600 banking index dipped 0.3 percent after earlier sliding 1 percent.
S&P 500 futures rose 2.1 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 100 futures added 6 points.
BP Plc deflected much of the blame for a rig blast that led to the worst-ever U.S. oil spill and the death of 11 crew members in an internal report.
BP claimed drilling contractor Transocean Ltd missed danger signs and also criticized the cementing of the well, conducted by Halliburton..
U.S. traded shares of BP rose 3.1 percent to $38.37 in premarket trading, while Transocean ticked up 0.2 percent to $53.17.
U.S. chain store sales rose 3 percent for the week ended Aug. 28 versus a year ago, Redbook Research said. The index measures sales for large U.S. general merchandise retailers, representing about 9,000 stores.
Staples Inc gained 3.1 percent to $19.25 premarket, and Costco Wholesale Corp was up 1.4 percent to $59.45 after Goldman Sachs upgraded both stocks to 'buy' and made upbeat comments.
Talbots Inc tumbled 10 percent to $9.99 premarket after the women's clothing retailer's quarterly sales missed estimates as it recorded a higher-than-expected profit..
U.S. stocks fell in very light volume on Tuesday on renewed concerns about European banks after strong gains last week.