* Manufacturing, jobless claims data on tap
* Fed Chairman Bernanke testifies before Congress
* Cisco offers $3 billion for Norway's Tandberg
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Adds quote, byline)
NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell
on Thursday, with investors consolidating gains after a strong
quarter, and as a raft of economic data was due that could
offer clues about the tone of economic recovery.
With the Dow Jones industrial average up 15 percent in the
third quarter, Thursday's indicators, notably September
manufacturing and weekly jobless claims, will be crucial in
determining the validity of the rally.
"We came off the third quarter with solid gains ... and now
that we are in a new month, a new quarter, I expect some sort
of a pullback as investors are ready to scrutinize economic
indicators today after some disappointing ones yesterday," said
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in
New York.
The data include pending home sales and personal income and
consumption for August, and may offer fresh evidence on the
strength of the U.S. recovery, ahead of Friday's non-farm
payrolls numbers.
Economists expect the Institute of Supply Management
manufacturing reading to climb to 54.0 for September from 52.9
in August, according to a Reuters survey. Pending home sales
are seen rising 1 percent in August compared with a 3.2 percent
increase in the previous month. The numbers are due at 10:00
a.m. (1400 GMT).
A total of 530,000 new filings for jobless claims, the same
as the previous week, is forecast by economists. The data is
set for release at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).
Stocks in the spotlight include Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O>
which fell 1.1 percent in premarket trade after it offered by
buy Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg for $3
billion in cash. For details, see []
Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> shares rose 1.6 percent
premarket after Chief Executive Ken Lewis said he was retiring
after months of being dogged by a series of government
investigations into the company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
The company did not name a successor. []
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 5.8 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> lost 39
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> were down 9.75 points.
Penske Automotive Group Inc <PAG.N> shares tumbled after
the bell Wednesday after it said it ended talks with General
Motors Co [] to buy the Saturn brand. []
Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O>, the largest U.S. cable service
provider, denied a report on Wednesday that it had struck a
deal to buy media conglomerate NBC Universal for $35 billion.
But Comcast stopped short of quashing widespread speculation
that it was interested in NBC Universal, owned by General
Electric Co <GE.N> and Vivendi. Comcast shares were down 2.7
percent in premarket trade. []
Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Thursday before
the House Financial Services Committee, where he is expected to
suggest that a broad-based oversight council of financial
regulators, not just the Federal Reserve, should be set up to
monitor systemic risk to the economy. []
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after a surprising
contraction in the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago's
business barometer, indicating weakening business activity in
the regional economy.
Still, the Dow marked its best quarterly performance since
the fourth quarter of 1998, while the S&P 500 notched its
second straight quarterly advance of 15 percent. The Nasdaq
gained 15.7 percent for the third quarter.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
