* Initial jobless claims among economic data on tap
* FedEx shrs fall after profit misses view
* Futures off: Dow 26 pts, S&P 4.7 pts, Nasdaq 5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Writes through, updates with quote, details, byline)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
dipped on Thursday ahead of a round of economic data that will
include a look at the labor market, while FedEx reported profit
that was shy of expectations.
Initial jobless claims will be the morning's focus, with
the number of people filing expected to rise to 460,000 from
451,000 in the prior week, according to a Reuters poll of
economists. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT)
Shipping group FedEx Corp <FDX.N> reported that quarterly
profit more than doubled, but the result missed expectations by
a penny. Its shares fell 2.7 percent to $83.60 in premarket
trading. For details, see []
The world's No. 3 software maker Oracle Corp <ORCL.O> as
well as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd
<RIM.TO><RIMM.O> will also report quarterly results later in
the day. All three companies are considered bellwethers of the
economy and their respective sectors. []
The data and corporate results could be welcome catalysts
to a market that has been stuck at the top of a trading range
in recent days.
The S&P 500 has found support at its 200-day moving average
around the 1,115 level, but the benchmark index has been unable
to pierce the 1,130 threshold, seen as a key resistance level
by analysts.
"We really have technicals that are becoming an almost
self-fulfilling prophecy," said Arthur Hogan, chief market
analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston.
"We'll see if we're going to find something that helps us
break out either way. Right now we're trading in a very tight
range, and it's hard to know if that's good or bad."
S&P 500 futures <SPc2> dipped 4.7 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 <DJc2> were off
26 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc2> slipped 5 points. Wall
Street advanced on Wednesday.
Also on tap on the economic front is the August producer
price index, at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), which is forecast to
rise 0.3 percent, compared with a 0.2 percent rise in July. The
Philadelphia Fed survey, coming at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), is
expected to rise to 2 in September from minus 7.7 the month
before. []
Hogan noted that early-morning futures trading this week
has not been a good indication of the ultimate direction of the
day, adding that futures could change course after the data at
8:30 a.m.
Focus was also on the foreign exchange market, where the
yen edged up against the dollar and other currencies as
Japanese authorities stayed away from the market after their
massive yen-selling operation the previous day.
[]
U.S.-listed shares of BHP Billiton <BHP.AX><BHP.N> dipped
after a newspaper report that Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc
<POT.TO><POT.N> is trying to stitch together a consortium, led
by China, to back a management buyout to trump BHP's hostile
bid. BHP was off nearly 1 percent to $72.85 in premarket
trading. []
Pier 1 Imports Inc <PIR.N> rose 2.4 percent to $8.15 after
the home decor chain reported a higher-than-expected quarterly
profit early Thursday. []
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
