US STOCKS-Stock futures flat; initial claims on deck

                                

                                
 * Weekly jobless claims due
                                
 * Alcoa to kick off earnings season
                                
 * Retailers report September sales
                                
 * Futures: Dow off 18 pts, S&P up 0.3 pts, Nasdaq off 2.5
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
                                
 By Chuck Mikolajczak
                                
 NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Thursday ahead of weekly jobless claims data
as investors sought insight into the strength of the economic
recovery before Friday's key employment report.
                                
 Analysts expected initial jobless claims to show a slight
rise to 455,000 for the week ended Oct. 2 from the previous
453,000, surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Continuing claims are
expected to show a dip to 4.45 million. The data is scheduled
for release at 8:30 a.m. EDT [12:30 GMT]
                                
 The data are a precursor for Friday's closely watched
non-farm payroll report from the Labor Department, which is
expected to show companies added 75,000 jobs in September. For
details, see [ID:nN05187700]
                                
 "The claims number is an appetizer for tomorrow's number --
payroll numbers tomorrow will play a great part in the
decision-making process, it is a highly anticipated number,"
said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek
Securities in New York.
                                
 "With the recent bout of better-than-expected economic
numbers helping to bolster the market, the market is taking a
pause before earnings season kicks into gear."
                                
 Alcoa Inc <AA.N> is due to kick off the third-quarter
earnings season after the closing bell. The U.S. aluminum group
was expected to post a modest third-quarter profit, but the
main focus will be on its forecast for rising metal prices,
which would send earnings surging in the final quarter.
[ID:nN05192623]
                                
 Retailers will be in focus as they were expected to post
modest monthly sales results for September on cautious
back-to-school shopping and aggressive month-end promotions
from department stores looking to clear inventory ahead of the
all-important holiday shopping season. [ID:nN05253779]
                                
 Aside from Alcoa, Micron Technology Inc <MU.O> is due to
report after the close.
                                
 PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> dipped 2.8 percent to $66.21 after it
trimmed the top end of its full-year earnings forecast and
reported a quarterly profit on Thursday that met expectations.
[ID:nN07278717]
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 0.3 points and were slightly
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 <DJc1>
lost 18 points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> slipped 3 points.
                                
 European shares rose by midday on Thursday, with investors
awaiting an interest rate decision and policy indications from
the European Central Bank after the Bank of England kept
interest rates on hold as expected. [.EU]
                                
 Asian stocks steadied after hitting a two-year high, capped
by weakness in the technology sector, while the dollar fell
ahead of the U.S. payrolls report. [ID:nSGE6960C1]
                                
 Technology shares slumped Wednesday on worries about demand
for semiconductors and data storage, while the broader market
was hamstrung by a poor reading on private-sector employment
and speculation about further quantitative easing from the
Federal Reserve.
  (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)