* China manufacturing data adds to global recovery worries
* Jobless claims, home sales, ISM manufacturing data eyed
* Futures off: S&P 4.3 pts, Dow 13 pts, Nasdaq 8 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates with quote)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell
on Thursday as moderate Chinese manufacturing data fueled
worries about the strength of global economic growth, a day
after Wall Street ended its worst quarter since the market
meltdown triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Global equities markets were pressured after the Chinese
data showed moderation in the world's third-largest economy,
but no precipitous drop that some investors feared. For
details, see []
"Any bad news on the Chinese economy is going to weigh on
the global market, and with the major indexes breaking their
technical support levels, we will need to see some really good
data today to reverse the current bearish trend," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New
York.
The day's economic calendar includes weekly jobless claims
set for 8:30 a.m. EDT [] and U.S. pending home sales
for May and the Institute for Supply Management's June
manufacturing index, BOTH due at 10:00 a.m. EDT [].
Economists in a Reuters survey expected jobless claims to
fall to 452,000 from 457,000 in the previous week. U.S. pending
home sales were seen declining 12.5 percent from a 6 percent
rise. The ISM manufacturing index was forecast a reading of
59.0 versus 59.7 in May.
June U.S. auto sales will come later Thursday.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> lost 4.3 points and were below 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 <DJc1> fell 13
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> slipped 8 points.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 <.SPX> fell below the key 1,040
level held since February, falling from what chartists called a
very bearish "head and shoulders" trend reversal pattern,
pointing to a major retreat in coming months.
For the quarter ended Wednesday, stock suffered their worst
losses since the market meltdown triggered by the collapse of
Lehman Brothers Holdings Corp. <LEHMQ.PK>
Worries over Moody's placing Spain on review for a
potential downgrade on Wednesday also kept markets pressured,
but Madrid managed to sell 3.5 billion euros of five-year bonds
at the top end of its target amount. []
Tender results for short-term European Central Bank funds
suggested euro zone banks were managing to repay emergency
loans, lifting some market anxiety.
The six-day ECB funds, largely in line with expectations,
helped the euro to hold gains after many had feared that some
banks may desperate for funds.
Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O> gained 1.2 percent in extended trade
Wednesday after the Internet and media group authorized a new
$3 billion share buyback. []
Hurricane Alex slowed BP Plc's <BP.L><BP.N> clean-up and
oil containment efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, even as a
potential permanent fix for the leak remained weeks away. But
BP's U.S.-traded shares were up 1.2 percent at $29.22
premarket. []
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
